Macyn Kirby wrapped up her freshman season playing with Lipscomb University. (Post File Photo by Kacy Kirby)
During her senior season with Forrest, Kirby was a staple for the Lady Rocket infield and played short stop. (File Photo by Chris Siers)
By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
A year ago, then-Forrest Lady Rocket Macyn Kirby signed her letter intent to continue her college career at Lipscomb University.
Fast forward a year, Kirby has wrapped up her freshman season and her first year playing at the collegiate level was everything she hoped it would be.
“I loved everything about my first year at Lipscomb. Coming in as a freshman can be very nerve wracking, but the community at Lipscomb made it feel like home almost immediately. I grew a lot as a person on the field, in the classroom, and even with my relationship with God. I was blessed to gain many new friendships and memories in one short year,” Kirby said.
Kirby was no stranger to the everyday grind and finding success on the softball field, but in making the jump to the collegiate level, Kirby gives all the credit to her coaching staff at Lipscomb for helping her make the adjustment to playing at the collegiate level.
“I am full of gratitude towards all of my previous coaches, because they made the transition to college very easy for me. For the most part, I felt mentally prepared for the challenges and constant grind of a long collegiate season. For as long as I can remember, I have played travel ball in the summer after every high school season, so the number of games never really overwhelmed me,” she said.
“As many athletes can relate, you go through good and bad times during a season. I was lucky to constantly be surrounded by over 20 loving teammates and a coaching staff that made my love for the game continue to grow every time I stepped on the field.”
While playing travel ball in the summer and with the Lady Rockets certainly put Kirby on the field against top echelon teams and competition, while a freshman at Lipscomb, she got to travel around the country and face some of the biggest names and schools in the nation.
“It was really cool to get to travel around the country and compete with many different schools from all different conferences. This allows your team to grow and rise to the occasion to prove something as a unit,” she said.
One of the familiar opponents Kirby got to face was Jenna Blanton, who played for the Kentucky Wildcats.
“It is always really cool to play former teammates, and see the hometown community in the stands supporting. It was meaningful to me to have the high school team and Coach Shelby (Lightfoot) in the stands cheering on both Jenna and me. I am blessed to come from a great high school program that has developed young athletes to allow opportunities like this to arise. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to play with many talented girls,” she said.
Kirby appeared in 40 games and made 36 starts for the Bison and batted .255 and connected on 25 hits and scored 10 runs in her freshman season.
As a slap hitter, Kirby’s focus in the offseason is focusing on working on improving her on-base percentage and finding different ways to put the ball in play in preparation for her sophomore season.
“As a slapper, I am constantly working to improve the many different tools to use while hitting. The goal is to never become one-dimensional, and to always have the ability to keep the defense on their toes while I am in the box,” she said.
“Overall, I am just working towards sharpening up the fundamentals and little things in every swing that make a huge difference when translated in games.”
While she still has the majority of her college career ahead of her, one special memory stood out during her freshman campaign.
“My favorite memory was when our team allowed our dad’s to come out on the field with us before a game, and stand with their daughter’s while they called out the lineup and did the National Anthem. This moment for me was very full circle, because my dad has played a huge role in the athlete I am today,” Kirby said.
“He has taken me to numerous games and camps all around the country, and he always is willing to work with me after hours on the field or in the weight room. This made standing out there on the field with him mean that much more to me, because I would not be there without him.”
With her freshman season in the rearview mirror, Kirby plans on using the off time in the summer to help improving her game, and grow in her faith.
“This summer I am working on developing multiple specific skills for the upcoming season. After playing my first year, I got the opportunity to see which areas of my game need more development, so I am working towards being mentally and physically stronger in those aspects. The goal is to always keep a discipline to continue growing in all areas, whether it is as a student, athlete, teammate, leader, and child of God,” she said.
