Freshman Q&A: Kayla Rettig
1/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Alabama Softball welcomes five newcomers to the team this season, so we'll be chatting with all of them this week. Our fourth newcomer is Kayla Rettig from Staunton, Ill.
How long have you been playing softball?
"I started around kindergarten with tee-ball and then kept playing all the way through high school. In my sophomore year I started playing with Select to try and get more exposure since I wanted to play in college."
What other sports did you play in addition to softball?
"I also played soccer, volleyball and basketball. In eighth grade, I had to choose between soccer and softball because they're played in the same season in high school. I chose softball and then I also decided to keep playing volleyball just as another sport to keep myself active."
Was playing softball in college a goal of yours?
"I was hoping to play in college. I got started with Select kind of late and I didn't get as much exposure with college coaches so I wasn't talking with too many of them. I wanted to try and play somewhere though."
What made you want to come to Alabama?
"With all the academic scholarships that I had received from Alabama, they offered the most out of any school I applied to. The schools in the south were offering me better scholarships than the ones near me. I came on a visit to Alabama and when I got on campus I really loved it. It was more of an academic decision to come here but I did want to try out and see if I was good enough to make the team."
How did you find out about walk-on tryouts and what was the tryout process like?
"I ended up calling Coach Aly and she told me about the tryouts so I had to fill out all my paperwork and get a physical before we had the actual tryouts in early September. About a week after tryouts, I got an email from the coaches saying they were thinking about keeping one of us as a pinch-runner so they wanted to sit down and have lunch with me and get to know me better before they made their decision. I didn't get the call from them until the first day of practice so I found out I was on the team at 11:30 and then we started practice at 2:30."
What emotions were you feeling waiting for that phone call after tryouts and the interview?
"I was really anxious. It had been almost a month since I had last heard from them so I was starting to think I may not have made it. I was actually on the phone with my dad when Coach Aly called me. I was talking with him about it and when I saw her calling, I told him I would call him back. I was really excited when they told me I made it. I really didn't know what to say. Being from a small town, we're not really known for Division-I athletes. I'm the first person from my town to play softball at a DI school. I was really shocked I made it and was really excited."
On the first day of practice, the rest of the team ambushed you when you showed up with a big group hug. That must have been a great first impression.
"I had a lot of adrenaline that day and then seeing the whole team run at me and give me a group hug was a great wave of excitement. I knew it would be a lot of fun after that."
Was there any difficulty being dropped into that environment and trying to fit in as a walk-on?
"It took a little while because I'm not the best at remembering names but all the girls were very nice and wanted to get to know me and make sure I felt welcomed. Danielle Richard would text me randomly and just ask me how my day was going and how I liked everything. It wasn't hard because they were so welcoming."
Was there an adjustment period over those first practices getting used to competing at such a high level?
"I knew it was going to be tough but it really was surprising how intense all the practices and weight sessions were. It took a little bit of time to learn, I had to watch some of the people in front of me and see what they were doing. I started to get it and they all worked with me to help me adjust to it."
Off the field, how has the adjustment to college life been?
"It's a lot of time management. I was pretty good with it in high school, keeping a 4.0 GPA while being active with sports. Here, it took a little bit more to manage my time since I'm taking engineering classes and also have softball practices."
This season, what are some of your individual and team goals?
"Individually, I just want to improve on how I did in the fall. I don't think my play in the fall showed the best of my abilities so I'm hoping to do better and get stronger in the spring. As a team, we all want to win the national championship this year. Our seniors want to win it for us and we definitely want to win it for them since it's their final year."
What advice would you give a young athlete who wants to play softball in college?
"If you really love it and want to do it, just stick with it. Work as hard as you can and be the best that you can be. Try and get exposure, especially since colleges are looking at younger kids now. Get as much exposure as you can and just work really hard."
Previous Freshman Q&A Stories
Rachel Bobo
Carrigan Fain
Alexis Osorio
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