THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER "LOCKER ROOM" SALUTES KARA DILL!
Plain Dealer Reporter
It would be simple to say that Kara Dill's life is full of contradictions.
Keystone's junior shortstop/pitcher speaks in a matter-of-fact way about her academic and athletic excellence.
Yet, she does so with humility and a knack for poking fun at herself. She's a bundle of energy, rushing from here to there, expertly juggling her passions for school and sports.
Yet she spends about 40 per cent of her time sleeping.
Dill doesn't have much time left for many of the activities kids enjoy. She doesn't skate or ski, doesn't do a lot of things that could lead to a career-changing injury.
"I'm definitely not a typical high schooler," she admits. "I don't do what a lot of kids are able to."
Yet those closest to Dill say she's fun-loving and fun to be around.
It's really not very complicated. Dill is relaxed and rested, comfortable and content being who she is. No wonder. She is being recruited by some of college softball's premier Division I programs. At the same time, she's on track to earn both her high school degree and an associate degree from Lorain Community College in June 2009.
It takes a lot of application and, thus, a lot of sacrifice to excel as Dill does.
Yet . . .
"I haven't so far," Dill chuckled when asked if she'll ever regret spending her youth as she does. "As long as I enjoy what I do, I wouldn't trade it for anything. So I really don't regret anything right now."
Dill is a two-time Division II first-team All-Ohio selection, including her 2006 freshman year. Keystone, in LaGrange of Lorain County, went 32-2 that season, won the state title and saw Dill slap a school-record 58 hits. This season, Dill began the week hitting .591 and, as the second pitcher to teammate Lauren Wagner, has a 5-1 record for the Wildcats (18-4).
Numerous Big Ten and Southeastern Conference college softball teams are in the recruiting chase for Dill.
The scholastic portion of Dill's résumé is just as impressive. She has a 3.9 grade-point average, taking all of her classes at LCC as part of the Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program, which allows students to earn college credits while in high school.
"Kara is a pretty goal-oriented person," said Clay Dill, Kara's father, "and she gets a lot of enjoyment from striving to do well in school and in softball. She's very passionate about being the best she can be."
Kara Dill follows a rather structured routine. It's estimated -- during the school week -- that as little as 5 percent and seldom as much as 15 percent of her time is free.
Time management and efficiency are key.
"Working hard is one thing," she says, "but to work smart is totally different. You can take 20,000 ground balls and not get any better at it, or you can take 20, work hard at it and get out of there."
Dill claims she never gets tired. It's partly because she sleeps from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. on school nights in the fall and winter, and from 10:30 p.m. to 9 a.m. in the spring. She has just three hours of classes in the fall and winter and two hours in the spring, but loads of homework.
"I've always slept a lot," Dill said. "If you don't get enough sleep, you're kind of groggy the next day."
Dill understands things might not go so smoothly without a strong support group. She talks fondly of the people in her life. Kara's father and mother, Karen, provide a balance for guidance in softball and school.
Clay, a former Keystone athlete and the general manager of a heating company, constantly aids his daughter in softball, whether it be hitting, fielding and pitching fundamentals, or watching instructional videos.
Karen Dill is an eighth-grade teacher at Keystone Middle School. She'd sit with Kara before the child began kindergarten, listening to her read beginners' books. Mr. and Mrs. Dill always labeled things in their house, such as "refrigerator" or "chair," when their children were small, helping them learn to recognize words.
"People would come over and chuckle at us when they'd see how our house was labeled," Karen said with a laugh.
Kara has always found motivation from her brothers' successes. Kyle, 20, graduated from the University of Texas-San Antonio last December as a 19-year-old, and Corey is a senior at Keystone. They have both enjoyed the PSEO program.
The Dills often see Clay's parents, Ray and Pat Dill, Clay's brother, Jay, and his wife, Michele, and their teenage sons, Cody and Troy. They love cookouts and gather, of course, at Kara's games.
"They're always willing to shag balls for me," Kara said of her cousins.
Dill appreciates her friends. "They know I really can't hang out that much," she explains, "because I have so much to do, whether I have a tournament that weekend or I have a research paper to write.
"They're really good about not trying to make me do one thing or another."
Among Dill's best friends is neighbor Courtney DiFanco, Keystone's 2006 class valedictorian.
"Kara's fun-loving with a very good sense of humor, happy-go-lucky and optimistic," DiFanco said. "She helps me look at the positive. If I get down about something, she'll point out something positive."
Dill, who also plays summer softball and in an indoor winter league, joins teammates such as Wagner, infielders Clare Sullivan and Kate Yeo, catcher Taylor Kessinger and outfielder Taylor Bell to give Keystone legitimate state-contender status. A natural right-hander who bats left-handed to take advantage of her speed, Dill can slap hits, drag bunt or hit for power. She has outstanding range in the field and a quick release. As a pitcher, she throws hard with movement.
"If we practice and Kara feels she didn't do something especially well, she'll come back to the field with her dad to work on it," Keystone coach Jim Piazza said. "It's what makes her a special player. And she's an excellent kid."
Whatever college Dill attends, she plans to major in kinesiology and exercise physiology, with a double major in sports psychology. She entertains hopes of a professional softball career and said it would be "awesome" to work as an athletic trainer at a university.
"If I can't play beyond college, I know I have my academics, which I've worked so hard on all of this time, to fall back on," Dill said. "Either way the road takes me, I'm fine with it."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
mpeticca@plaind.com, 216-999-6177