It doesn’t take a second look to know that Kye Carter is a special talent. Not just as a member of the Muskogee Roughers softball team but also in everyday life.
“How much time do you have for me to talk about her? She is one incredible, amazing young lady,” exclaimed Muskogee head coach Mark Dicus. “Kye’s a good softball player and an even more amazing person.”
The veteran coach of the Roughers admits that Carter has leadership abilities that you don’t often see in a youngster.
“I’ve been in coaching for 44 years and it’s not very often that one like this comes along. I’ve coached hundreds of kids over those years and she’s the first one that comes in every day and asks me ‘Coach, how is your day?’
When asked for a self-definition, “Kye-eye or Kobra Kye” as she’s known to her teammates, thought before she responded.
“I try to be coachable, patient and a team-player,” admits the 5-foot-10 tall Muskogee freshman. “Most important is coachable because I am able to take coach’s instructions and put them in play on the field in a way where I can help my team not set them back.”
Dicus agrees noting the talented outfielder is eager to learn and set a standard of success.
“Last fall we were playing in Broken Arrow and Kye’s mom, as usual, was at the game. Kye lives in Coweta so I was surprised when I looked on the bus about halfway home and saw Kye sitting there,” recalled Dicus. “I asked ‘Kye, why didn’t you just ride home with your mom instead of going all the way back to Muskogee?’ and she said ‘Coach, if I did that, I wouldn’t be able to help get the equipment off the bus and make sure the locker room was the way it should be before I left.’ She’s one of the most positive people I’ve ever been around in all my coaching years.”
Strong with the bat and solid with her glove play, Carter’s winning approach is a trait she credits to the influence of her mom.
“I’m the person I am today thanks to my mom (Ren),” smiled number-21 for the Roughers. “Growing up with a strong leader figure in my life made me aspire to put forth my best foot into anything I decided on doing. Seeing how she got my siblings and me up in the morning for school while also juggling lunches and still always being on time helped me learn to manage my time wiser.”
Anyone who knows Kye will confirm her sense of fashion which is something she shares with her favorite teacher while maintaining a 3.8 GPA.
“My favorite teacher would have to be Ms. Napier,” she said with a wink and a glance at her attire where her shoes matched the color of her eye shadow. “It’s good to have a softball supporter you can talk about any team with. We also share a good fashion sense with each other and good humor.”
Having played softball with a fever to win since age four, Dicus and the Roughers are glad that Kye Carter is just a freshman and already setting a performance standard on a championship level.
