Tri-Sport Athlete Mary Kate Baswell embodies what it means to be a Cavalier – LaGrange Daily News

Tri-Sport athlete Mary Kate Baswell embodies what it means to be a Cavalier

Published 9:05 am Wednesday 8 March 2023

Tri-Sport athlete Mary Kate Baswell embodies what it means to be a Cavalier. The Callaway Junior just keeps grinding to get better, no matter what sporting season it is.

“I love Callaway and have gone to Callaway my entire life, with the exception of Hogansville Elementary,” Baswell said. “All the teachers, administrators and students make it feel like home.”

At schools in smaller classifications such as AA Callaway, athletes typically play multiple sports, with many often filling in the numbers on teams that are not their number one. 1 priority – not Baswell. She is a regular for the soccer team, where she acts as a midfield conductor. She started her freshman year on the fall flag football team as a quarterback and was also the leader of the volleyball team. This doesn’t even include the fact that she’s a former cheerleader who helped Callaway win the state as a freshman.

While she is a triathlete, the soccer field is her home. She first came into contact with organized football when she was little and could never let it go. Over the years, she fell more and more in love with the sport. She is a talented player and was a key player on the Callaway team that broke school records a season ago. In fact, the highlight of her soccer career so far has been breaking the school winning record and losing just three games a season ago, when the team truly came together as one.

She has taken her game to new heights this year, scoring seven goals and providing 12 assists in just nine games this year so far. It’s a definite improvement for a player who’s brimming with confidence this season. Baswell has blossomed into a true field general on the court for the Cavaliers, barking orders at the players as she orchestrates the show.

“Sometimes it’s hard because I don’t want to say too much and I don’t want to come off as a coach,” Baswell said with a chuckle.

One of the aspects of the team that makes her job so much easier is the players in front of her, especially Autumn Brown and Kate McAteer, who put the ball in the back net with ease and make her job as a presenter less complicated.

“Sometimes the only option we have is to get the ball past the defenders and let them get to it,” Baswell said. “We’ve really grown together over the last year.”

It’s also a position she knows well, having played midfield for all three years of her high school career.

A change of coach after her second season has helped her gain even more confidence.

“[Coach Mike Petite] helps us get better every day,” said Baswell. “He really helped boost my confidence and helped me learn the game.”

Being challenged isn’t a new concept to Baswell. She challenged herself in the fall when she switched from cheerleading to volleyball. She has played organized volleyball since seventh grade and says she was initially a little nervous about returning to the sport. She had no expectations for the season, but being a key part of a team that made program history by making their first appearance in the quarterfinals has been one of the highlights of her sporting career so far.

“It was special to be the first team in history to put up a banner,” Baswell said. “Since it was my first year playing volleyball again, I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t expect to improve so much over the course of the season.”

Callaway volleyball coach Shelby Goins helped her rekindle her love of volleyball, and now Baswell plans to compete in red and black for the team again this fall.

In addition, she found another sports family on the soccer field last fall. Baswell didn’t play in the program’s inaugural year but was a perfect fit for the fall 2022 team in its sophomore year. She quickly secured the starting quarterback spot, won the county championship, and led the Cavaliers to their first playoff appearance.

She jumped straight from volleyball to flag football and then straight to soccer with little to no rest in between, and honestly, she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

“It keeps me busy,” Baswell said, laughing. “I will always fight for something.”