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COLUMBIA WEATHER

SEC Player of the Year leaves footprint in Columbia youth softball players





The 2022 SEC softball Player of the Year, Kendall Beth Sides, instructs a group of youth softball players on a hitting drill during her camp last week at Columbia Central.CHRIS YOW / MAIN STREET MAURY

The 2022 SEC softball Player of the Year, Kendall Beth Sides, instructs a group of youth softball players on a hitting drill during her camp last week at Columbia Central.CHRIS YOW / MAIN STREET MAURY

As the game of softball continues to grow in popularity across the state of Tennessee and the country, superstar names are becoming increasingly more recognizable to young people.

Arkansas outfielder and 2022 SEC Player of the Year Kendall Beth Sides didn’t know what to expect when she booked one of her patented hitting camps in Columbia, but she quickly learned that she just might have a household name.

“These kids recognizing me and the accomplishments I’ve made in my career is awesome because it shows me that all the work I put in and the talents God blessed me with paid off, and it shows them that if they work hard like I did that they can do it too,” she said.

A three-time high school All-American and Gatorade Player of the Year out of Sumiton Christian School in Alabama, Sides spent four seasons at Alabama before she entered the transfer portal and finding a home at Arkansas in her last season of eligibility.

While she never found the success she expected in Tuscaloosa under Patrick Murphy, the change of environment to Fayetteville and coach Courtney Deifel was just what the doctor ordered.

The 2022 SEC softball Player of the Year, Kendall Beth Sides, watches one of the campers as she does a hitting drill during her camp last week at Columbia Central.CHRIS YOW / MAIN STREET MAURY

The 2022 SEC softball Player of the Year, Kendall Beth Sides, watches one of the campers as she does a hitting drill during her camp last week at Columbia Central.CHRIS YOW / MAIN STREET MAURY

Sans the shortened Covid-19 season in 2020, Sides posted a career-best .389 batting average while reaching base on more than half of her plate appearances in 2022. She also hit 13 home runs with the Hogs – she only had three career homers at Alabama, where she spent most of her career as a slap hitter.

Having a hitter of her caliber teaching the youth of Southern Middle Tennessee on Columbia Central’s softball field was a treat for Jon McDonald, who will be entering his second season as the Lady Lions’ coach.

“The main focus is keeping the game of softball strong in this area. Any time you can have someone of this caliber come in and do a camp is huge. Everybody knows who she is, even though she’s not from here,” he said. “Keeping girls excited about the game of softball and doing it on our field is nice.”

The 2022 SEC softball Player of the Year, Kendall Beth Sides, talks to the youngest group of softball players during her camp last week at Columbia Central.CHRIS YOW / MAIN STREET MAURY

The 2022 SEC softball Player of the Year, Kendall Beth Sides, talks to the youngest group of softball players during her camp last week at Columbia Central.CHRIS YOW / MAIN STREET MAURY

Sides said having these camps is her way of giving back to the game that gave so much to her, and it’s one of her favorite things to do now that she’s done playing collegiately.

“I have loved our time here, especially since it was supposed to rain and didn’t. I love meeting new kids and seeing new faces,” she said. “The more I do camps in Alabama, I see the same kids every now and then, so it’s cool to be somewhere different.

Despite weather concerns and the added stress of travel ball seasons coming to a close and students getting ready to return to school, girls filled the infield last week to get a glimpse into what makes a college softball hitter.

“A lot of these girls are finishing up travel ball seasons or rec ball seasons and they’re out here putting in work to keep getting better – that’s encouraging to see,” McDonald said. “Softball is growing. You see it across the country and it’s fun to watch it grow.”

For Sides, it’s just her way of leaving her mark on the game and in the household names of tomorrow’s superstars.

 

 

“I am so happy to encourage kids and show them an example of what they can accomplish, and I get to give back to the game that gave me so much joy,” she said. “It’s exciting to leave a little footprint somewhere else.”

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