Player Spotlight: Working Out in These COVID-19 Times, Kiersten James “Chooses” to Become a Better Player!

When we recently published the Class of 2022 Player Rankings, Kiersten James, an outfielder at Etowah (Georgia) High and with Joe Montgomery’s East Cobb Bullets travel team, was a Top 150 honoree in her class.

At 5-foot-8, she’s a dual sport athlete who Coach Montgomery says could “possibly play D-1 in both softball and basketball.” He adds, “As one of the best outfielders in the country, Kiersten erases would-be hits in the gap from her center fielder position and KJ is not scared to sacrifice her body to make a play. Offensively, she’s an absolute terror at the plate—several teams didn’t know how to defend because of her ability to lay down a bunt, or turn around and blast a home run.”

Kiersten was recently clocked with an overhand speed of 65 mph last fall at an SEC camp and in hoops is a standout point guard for the Etowah High team that made it to the Elite 8 this past season. Add to the mix a 3.9 GPA and it’s no surprise she is being pursued by ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC schools.

We asked the Peach State athlete what she’s doing to stay in shape and keep her skills honed during these times of “self-distancing” and “stay at home” mandates. While things are easing up in states across the country, many softballers continue to have to work out on their own.

“I have been doing almost the same routine since the shutdown began,” Kiersten told Extra Inning Softball, because I think it gives me a sense of accomplishment and normalcy. By doing this it helps me work on my softball as well as my basketball abilities which is something I rarely have time for.”

Here, she says, is “my typical routine every day:”

• 10:00 am – wake up and start my online school
• 12:30 pm – go downstairs and do my core/leg work out for the day
• 1:30 pm – run through my neighborhood about 2 ½ miles
• 2:00 pm – eat lunch and finish any schoolwork I have
• 2:40 pm – shoot baskets and do dribbling drills
• 3:20 pm – workout with my AT from Etowah
• 4:30 pm – go hit buckets and throw with my dad

As for what drives her to keep working hard, Kiersten continues: “I come from a very competitive family, was introduced to softball because my older sister played. I was five when she played in her first year and I spent a lot of days watching her at the ballpark.”

*** Scroll down to read more about Kiersten’s successes, what drives her to work out every day and what she is happy to still sneak in when she can…

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