D9Sports.com/EYT Media is doing a series of player profiles on returning high-school athletes this summer. The year in school listed by the athlete is the year the athlete is entering this fall.
(Photo by Jared Bakaysa of JB Graphics. See more of Bakaysa’s work here)
KATE ALLEN – JUNIOR – KARNS CITY
Daughter of: Amber Thorpe
Sports Played: Volleyball, Softball
Family Members Playing/Played Sports: Almost all of her family members played high school sports. her mom Amber, her uncle Matt, her grandparents Jim and Cindy, and her many cousins played sports.
2017-18 Highlights: She helped Karns City to a second straight District 5-8-9 Class 3A softball title by hitting .397 with two home runs, a triple, four doubles, 13 RBIs and 17 runs scored. She was named the Hager Paving Player of the Game after the Lady Gremlins win over Clarion during softball season.
Post-High School Plans: She plans to enter the medical field with the goal to be a pediatric hematologist.
Q&A With Kate Allen
D9Sports: What is your favorite sport to participate in and why?
KA: Softball is my favorite sport because I have played it since I was young. I also have closer friends in this sport and it is overall more exciting to me.
D9Sports: What is your favorite memory, moment, game from playing high school sports?
KA: My favorite memory was the bus ride home after we won the D9 championship game.
D9Sports: Why do you play high school sports?
KA: I play sports to help better myself all around as a person. I have learned better communication and teamwork skills by having to work with others closely. Sports to me are a fun way to stay and shape and I can do it with my best friends. Being an athlete has introduced me to some people that will be lifelong friends.
D9Sports: Who has had the most influence on your athletic career and why?
KA: My grandpa has had the most influence on my athletics. He is the person who started me into play baseball which then turned into softball. He pushed me the hardest out of anyone who has helped/coached me and I cannot thank him enough for the time he has put into making me the athlete I am today.
D9Sports: Do you remember the first sport you played and did you like it right away or did it grow on you?
KA: The first sport I played was baseball. I loved it growing up. It came very naturally to me so I really enjoyed it.
D9Sports: Do you have a favorite number for a uniform? If so, what is the story behind that number?
KA: My favorite number is 4. When I was younger my number for everything was 3 but then the coaches son took No. 3 one year so I had to change it. I picked 4 that year and it’s stuck ever since.
D9Sports: What would someone who doesn’t know you be surprised to find out about you?
KA: I’m very artistic.
D9Sports: If you could eat dinner with anyone famous (living or dead) who would it be and why?
KA: I would eat dinner with Roberto Clemente. He was such an amazing person who not only did amazing things in the baseball world but for all people. It would be a true honor to meet someone who tried to better not only themselves but their society.
D9Sports: Iphone or Android or Neither and why?
KA: iPhone. I’ve always had them and refuse to switch. Androids are too glitchy.
D9Sports: What is your go-to Social Media and why?
KA: Twitter because I find funnier things on it than Instagram or Facebook.
D9Sports: What do you like most about high school and why?
KA: My favorite thing about high school is probably the friendships I have. I get to see my best friends every day in school which makes the school day suck a little less.
D9Sports: What do you like least about high school and why?
KA: There’s nothing really that I don’t like about high school. The drama might be the only thing. Other than that, however, I enjoy it. I like my friends, my classes, and my teachers.
D9Sports: What question do you wish I would have asked you? And what is the answer to it?
KA: Would you rather watch college or professional sports on tv? Definitely college sports.
