locker room
Confronting those who told her that baseball diamonds don’t have a girl’s place, Sharysse Kjestrup-Caudwell continues to wave in sports when the first kiwi was invited to a girl’s global tournament.
SharysseKjestrup-It takes a lot of time to suppress Caudwell.
Kjestrup-Caudwell, who was told that “girls don’t play baseball” and was forced to switch to softball, is currently one of two women playing baseball in New Zealand’s men’s premier grade. And talented catchers are also attracting attention on an international scale.
Even when she broke the ACL in a softball tournament, she continued to play-overcoming the pain of winning a selection in an international softball tournament.
Kjestrup-Caudwell is also the first kiwi to be invited to the Baseball for All Nationals, the largest women’s baseball tournament in the United States, bringing together up-and-coming players from around the world.
And she’s working with sports to pave the way for girls-after seeing girls turn their backs for years.
Usually the only woman on the baseball team she plays, the 19-year-old Kjestrup-Caudwell is a role model for all the young kiwi girls in this sport.
“When I play games in my old grade, they sit there.
“It’s just adorable, I love it. I hope there’s a chance and even a single girl will play.”
Kjestrup-Caudwell was once the girl.
At the age of five, she first got baseball at the Teple Coasters in eastern Auckland, moving up the county from Tee-ball to premier grade and competing with boys.
She has become accustomed to boys who make fun of her, call her an “easy hit” when pitching, and tell her to approach the team while batting. But the man she’s playing now is much more welcome because she respects her skills.
But when she first created the U13 team, the coach told her she had to move to softball because “girls don’t play baseball.”
According to Kjestrup-Caudwell, girls begin to drop out of sports as a teenager. Some go to softball, others go to other sports. And some stop playing sports together. “I think each girl’s journey is different, but it’s all the same message. It’s not completely welcome here,” she says.
Shortly after she switched, the coach admitted defeat and recalled to his baseball team when Kjestrup-Caudwell realized she needed her skills.
“He was a real old school,” she remembers. “In recent years he met me, but he still doesn’t know my name. He still calls me Sherry. He praises all of my success,” she said. Said.
Still, his old-fashioned way of thinking did not help her progress at all.
Kjestrup-Caudwell is still playing softball, but her true love is baseball and in many ways she likes sports. Her softball diamonds are small and the size of the ball and bat varies between the two sports. But her mental skills really attract Kjestrup-Caudwell to baseball.
“Personally, I think baseball needs more to think about,” she says. “Because the runners can move away from the base and run a long distance, just knowing what the next play is, you have to think a lot more.
“Especially with the elements added to baseball, the ball will always be live because it starts from the base. Therefore, you should always pay attention. With softball, you are in a kind of bag. Stay [base] Until the pitcher throws the ball, and you can do something. I love it because it involves more thoughts. “
It’s also a family problem.
Kjestrup-Caudwell’s dad, Scott Caudwell, played softball when he was young and played in Canada for several years before turning to baseball coaching. Her mother, Natasha Kestrap, has the highest certification for scoring baseball in New Zealand.
Sharysse is keen to follow in their footsteps at the end of their playing career. She was injured in 2020, but she has already completed the refereeing course and she has a real passion for helping others.
Her injury occurred when she was playing softball (in the U18 nation two years ago) and heard her knees pop when she bent.
“I was on the floor and told my dad to come. He was walking so slowly that I got angry with him and said” screw in “and got up and walked away,” she laughs. increase.
She thought it was a minor injury and overcame the pain, and decided to participate in the international softball tournament held in California.
“Given that I was injured, I was very surprised because it was definitely not my best performance,” she says. “But I was selected for the team and I wasn’t getting better so I had to turn it down a month later.”
A month after the tournament, Kjestrup-Caudwell met with a specialist and MRI revealed that he broke the ACL with both menisci in his right knee. It was a big shock as she walked around for weeks with minimal pain.
But experts told her that she “did a good job of it’s bloody”, and he didn’t know how she was still walking around.
After surgery and rehabilitation, Kjestrup-Caudwell quit sports for about a year. However, despite her emotional sacrifice that she couldn’t play, she still appeared and helped her practice and train.
“Oh, it was unbearably painful,” she says. “I really wanted to be there, but I kept trying to help as much as I could.”
But there was a reward for the break, Kjestrup-Caudwell admits.
“I was learning how to read the pitcher’s pick-off movement, which also helped. When you’re a runner and you’re heading to the base, the pitcher turns around and throws it to kick you out. You can .. .. It made me a better player, so I know how to read it better. “
Kjestrup Caudwell’s selflessness extends to her life other than baseball. She has been studying physiotherapy at Auckland University of Technology for the second year. She is there, she is a peer mentor, and a student ambassador to support the research of young students.
She knows the importance of expertise in rehabilitating sports injuries and safely returning athletes to full health, so she uses her degree to provide professional physiotherapy for baseball and softball athletes. I hope to be.
As the first kiwi to choose to play baseball for all, Kjestrup-Caudwell was scheduled to fly to Arizona next month. This was a great experience to play with and play against the best players in the world.
However, the last-minute schedule clashed with a US baseball tryout and the college division was cancelled. Fortunately, however, Kjestrup-Caudwell can take over her invitation next year. She has already started a Give-a-little page for fundraising for her trip.
The news was incredibly disappointing, but Kjestrup-Caudwell is always a bright side-she is now spending a full summer of baseball before the 2023 tournament. Last summer she played only half a season on her way home from knee surgery.
Kjestrup-Caudwell came to life last year when a new female CEO was appointed to the Baseball New Zealand Federation. Megan Crockett has worked in a variety of other sports before starting this role.
The young baseball player immediately contacted her to ensure that women’s baseball was well represented and supported in the future.
“It’s definitely great for her to be proactive about it,” says Kjestrup-Caudwell, who is currently working with Crockett to ensure that women’s voices are heard.
“She went around and talked to scorers, referees, coaches, players and parents. She’s trying to get feedback on how baseball is played in New Zealand and improve it. ”
Sharysse Kjestrup-Caudwell wants New Zealand to have a women’s team in the Baseball World Cup.
Kjestrup-Caudwell wants to continue to inspire girls to play baseball in New Zealand and advance the story that softball is not the only option for women.
“It’s finally starting to be a boy’s path, but for girls, it’s said,” There’s no way, so I just go to softball, “she says.
“Personally, I’ve never had such a great time with softball, so it’s really annoying to hear that.
“I want to play baseball, so I’ve been looking for an opportunity in the last few years to start making way for girls.”
Kjestrup-Caudwell also aims to play in Australia and talks about the evolving baseball league for women throughout Tasman.
Her long-term goal is to get the New Zealand women’s team to participate in the Baseball World Cup. Kjestrup-Caudwell has already helped train young girls as catchers and encourage them to continue playing sports.
But she knows there’s a lot to do. It definitely can’t happen overnight. “
What is her advice for a baseball girl?
“I definitely stick to it. You never know what opportunities will come to you,” she says.
Her trip to serve herself on a global scale has to wait, but Kjestrup-Caudwell hasn’t slowed down.
“I want to come back and grow. I’m not the best girl I’ve ever seen in New Zealand baseball, but young girls should have the right to play and I want to help them do that. increase.”