by Julia Cuttone
“My biggest obstacle throughout my softball career is keeping up with the speed of players as I get older. As a catcher, base runners keep getting faster, the further along in my career I get. I would constantly practice my throw downs a lot more and focus on getting quicker so that I can keep up.” Kimberly Basile, starting catcher at Farmingdale State College said. She started playing softball at the age of six, and learned how to play from her two biggest inspirations in softball, her older sisters.
Basile made fifth team All- State her senior year at Island Trees high school and said that it was one of her greatest accomplishments. This past season in her junior year at FSC, she also won the Skyline Conference Championship in 2019 with her team this past season. She said, “Last season was a really good season I caught a couple sterling and I had two diving players at the plate where I got players out and we won the skyline conference championship.” This coming season Basile is focusing on improving her hitting from last year and keeping up the pace with her throw downs to try and catch more players stealing than last season.
She gives advice for other softball players who want to play at the collegiate level, “Go for what you want as a player. I believe that as players we are our biggest critics and that coaches look for players who are coachable and willing to learn. If you want to play for a school definitely reach out to the coaches and I always say to trust your instincts because at this point you have probably been playing softball for a long time, so you know what to do, you just have to trust yourself.”
Softball has given Basile confidence not only as a player but as a person and has also helped her gain personal connections with new friends. “Softball has taught me so much as a person. I’ve learned how to take a loss and learn from it and to keep working hard to reach my goals.” Throughout Basile’s years of playing softball she has learned that no matter what comes her way, as long as she works hard, she and anyone else who does the same, can have the ability to push through anything.
