The Alexander City Outlook

Sports Academy awards HBS player

The Sports Academy, a baseball/softball training facility in Opelika, celebrated its fifth year in business in part by handing a prestigious award to one local player.

Kynsley Rae Blasingame, 10, of Horseshoe Bend School was named the female 2009 Sports Academy-Zaxby’s Athlete of the Year for her work on the softball diamond and her character off the field.

Blasingame was selected last year for a monthly award and then chosen out of a pool of those winners by a panel at a banquet last week as athlete of the year.

“Kynsley is always smiling and a very kind young girl,” said Steve Kisor, co-owner of Sports Academy. “She comes quite a bit and is very appreciative of the people here who help her. She consistently is trying to get better, and it’s neat to see someone of her age with that kind of attitude and drive. Her coaches couldn’t say enough about her.”

Another local player, Savannah Hornsby of Reeltown School, was selected as an All-Star Athlete.

Sports Academy is a 16,000-square-foot building with five batting cages, two mounds, an area for long toss and other places for instruction and one-on-one time. In its five years of operation, the facility has expanded its coverage area from the Opelika and Auburn area to include players from Alexander City, Sylacauga, Childersburg, Montgomery, Smiths Station, Wetumpka and several other cities.

Kisor said that while the job of the coaches and teachers at the Sports Academy is certainly a reason for growth, it could be the approach that instructors take that keeps bringing kids back.

“Obviously, we want the kids to play better, whether it’s hitting, running or throwing,” Kisor said. “But, that’s not necessarily our main goal. We’re a Christian-based organization that really wants the kids to open up their personalities and get a sense of satisfaction from playing the game. With the pressure from some coaches and parents, that sometimes gets lost.

“We want the players who come to our camps and clinics to improve their self-esteem and desire to play the game.”

Kisor, who is a physical therapist, said there is also a focus on educating parents and players on the proper way to play without getting injured.

“I see so many young kids come in here with arm injuries that are mainly from overuse or lack of knowledge,” Kisor said. “So, there is also an educational component to our work.”

Kisor added that the Alexander City area has had many success stories come through the Sports Academy.

“We’ve had strong support in the past, especially from the softball community in Alex City,” Kisor said. “There are a lot of people that have come through and gone on to play for Benjamin Russell.”

Kisor, who worked with the University of South Carolina’s athletic programs for 11 years, co-owns the business with Mark Fuller. Fuller pitched at Auburn University for four years and played five years of professional baseball with the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets organizations, making it to the AAA level.