Lessons Carried From Crockett and Italy to Texas A&M

By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – By the time Alexandra Kane graduated from Crockett High School, she had learned how to balance academics, athletics, work and the relationships that connected all of them.

Kane graduated as the school’s salutatorian while participating in band, FFA, NHS and student council. She also worked as a manager at a local fast food location and played travel softball.

This fall, she will begin a new chapter at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School, where she has been accepted into the honors program. She plans to major in business, minor in finance and eventually become a financial adviser.

“The opportunities that the honors program has at Mays are exceptional,” Kane said. “They really like to connect their students with businesses.”

Kane grew up in Crockett and attended Crockett schools after her elementary school closed. Keeping up with her responsibilities was not always easy.

“Honestly, it was a little taxing,” she said. “There were many nights when I would come home from a football game and still have homework, or go to softball practice and then go to FFA practice. It was very taxing, but it was also very rewarding.”

The reward came partly from the people she met. Kane said her involvement in different activities allowed her to know students from many different backgrounds and see the places where they felt most at home.

“I really enjoyed getting to meet people from all different parts of life because no two people are the same, especially in the different clubs,” she said. “I really enjoyed being able to be a part of everything and learn new things.”

Softball, however, has been part of Kane’s life longer than any of her other activities. She started playing t-ball and baseball at age 3 before switching to softball at approximately age 5.

“I’ve done softball my entire life,” she said. “It’s kind of been my thing my entire life.”

Her connection to the sport deepened when she began pitching. Kane did not originally choose the position; she began pitching because her team needed someone to do it. Over time, however, she came to appreciate the responsibility that came with standing in the circle.

“I really think I fell in love with it when I started pitching,” Kane said. “Standing on the mound and feeling in control of the game, knowing that people relied on me and knowing that my performance was a key factor in the game made me feel good about myself.”

That responsibility also gave Kane an opportunity to encourage younger players. She gave lessons to younger girls and sought advice from her own batting coach so she could pass along what she was learning.

“I would go to my batting coach and ask him for advice so I could go teach the younger girls at Crockett,” she said. “They would look to me as a mentor, and I felt like a secondary coach.”