DCHS Tigerette, Kayla Fish, will continue her softball career at Maryville College, next year. The senior made it official on Tuesday, as she signed an athletic scholarship with the East Tennessee school.
Fish will be coached at the four-year program by her brother, Danny Fish, a DCHS alum who just completed his sixth season as head coach of the Scots program. Danny Fish said he believes Kayla will fill a void on his team, and will be a team player, despite the family connection.
“I know it’ll be a sister playing for her brother, but it’s going to be tough; tougher on her than it will be on me,” Fish said. “I like to think of myself being able to differentiate the relationships between brother and sister, and player and coach. Kayla shoud be able to come right in, if she works really hard, and help us out. We lost a couple of outfielders from this season’s team, so we’ll see what happens.”
Fish said academics will also be of the utmost importance, which, Kayla conceded, was one of the factors in her choosing Maryville.
“She’s going to be a good student-athlete, which is something we put a great deal of emphasis on at Maryville College,” said Fish, who boasts a 100-percent graduation rate during his six-year Maryville tenure. “There’s plenty of opportunity for her at Maryville, so we’ll see what she makes of that opportunity.”
Tigerette coach, Danny Bond, believes Kayla Fish will do well at the next level and wishes his senior the best.
“She’s been a class act all the way through,” Bond said. “She’s been a very dedicated young lady, having played basketball, softball, and worked hard in the classroom. I think she’ll be very successful at Maryville. I’m very happy for her and I think she’ll be very successful.”
Maryville College is an NCAA Division III school, and is a member of the Great South Atlantic Conference. The Lady Scots were 19-19 in 2008, and graduated another former DCHS player, Ashley Redmon, at the conclusion of the season.
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