Every athlete dreams of playing under the bright lights of New York City.
That dream has come true for former Woodrow Wilson softball slugger, Kayla Bird.
Thursday evening surrounded by family and friends, Bird signed to play softball for Nyack College located in the lower Manhattan section of NYC.
“I’m excited. I have had this offer sitting for nearly a year. I have experienced other people getting to sign like (Former Shady Spring standouts) Paige Maynard and Olivia Barnett. Then you go up to South Charleston for Tori Wells. Those are all girls I have grown up with and now it’s my turn. It’s really exciting to actually get to do it,” Bird said.
Prior to her stellar senior season, Bird had already made up her mind that Nyack College would be her next level destination.
The journey to The Big Apple started just over a year ago at a combine in Virginia Beach, Va.
“The College Scouting Bureau hosts combines across the country. They are a small organization, but they host the combines,” Bird explained. “The coach that invited me was Pat Hallahan from Dallas Christian (College) who said he had been looking at me for years. The closest they got to me was all the way down at Virginia Beach. I saved up money and I told my dad that was the one combine that I wanted to go to.”
Virginia Beach in the heart of July is hot and humid, but the weather paled in comparison to the heat that the Class AAA all-state third baseman brought to the plate that day.
“Every player got 10 pitches each and I hit eight of them over the fence. It got a lot of peoples attention. That is where I met (Nyack College head) coach, Jeff Aumend, and he invited me up for a visit. I went there in September, right around 9-11 and I fell in love with the school. He offered me a spot right around Halloween and I verbally committed.”
While Bird admitted the big city and huge numbers of people were a bit intimidating, Nyack College gave her a small town feel in the shadow of NYC.
“The academic hall is in Manhattan, but the residential hall is in Jersey City (N.J.),” Bird said. “So I have a commute, but everything in Jersey City is small. I get to experience the city and still keep the small hometown vibe. I will get the best of both worlds.”
Academically, Bird will major in biology with hopes of entering medical school or being a physical therapist.
“I want to double minor in business and psychology. In my ideal world I want to be a physical therapist with sports psychology specialties,” Bird said.
Bird also hopes to pass along what she has learned and will learn at the college level to players back in her hometown.
“I would like to have a camp around Christmas with players like (former Independence all-stater) Kaylen Parks, Paige Maynard and Olivia Barnett. I want to give back and I love to coach. Even though we are all very competitive, we are all very close,” Byrd says.