Kosciusko junior second baseman Kelly Hood will represent the Lady Whippets at the May 29-30 Mississippi Association of Coaches All-Star fast-pitch softball game at Jones College.
While the status of the game is currently still to be determined due to the growing concerns of coronavirus exposure, Hood said that has not stopped her from preparing for the game next month.
“My dad and I go practice around two or three times a week,” She said.
Hood and her Kosciusko teammates were off to a 7-2 start to the season before it was abruptly halted after coronavirus protocol was handed down by the MHSAA. The Lady Whippets stopped their season following a 13-1, run-rule win against Enterprise-Lincoln. The win was the team’s fifth consecutive.
Hood, a junior, has started for Kosciusko since her eighth-grade season. She initially took the diamond as an outfield, but head coach Tony Terry eventually shifted her to the infield.
“It’s great for the kids, and it’s validation for the program that pretty much year after year we’ve had people selected,” Terry said. “She’s definitely deserving of it, because she’s one of the hardest workers I’ve had.”
For Hood, being selected to play among some of the best softball talent in the state validates the amount of work she dedicates to improving her craft. Hood said her best friend and teammate, Josie Meggs, and her parents, are the first people she informed about her selection after she received the phone call.
“It makes me feel really good about myself and all of the hard work I’ve done,” Hood said.
Although Hood has one more season left to play in the prep ranks before she continues her academic and athletic careers at Northeast Mississippi Community College, she said playing in the upcoming all-star game will not only afford her the opportunity to meet new friends, but it will give her a chance to observe other talented players.
“Meeting new people and new friends,” she said. “And being able to see the other really good players out there and being able to compete with them and play with them.”
