Panther Profile: Makayla Cam

Makayla Cam is a senior at Mt. Pleasant High School and a member of the Panther softball team. She has been playing on the varsity squad since eighth grade, being part of two different Mt. Pleasant state tournament teams.

Cam currently bats leadoff for Mt. Pleasant and plays both outfield and infield. She is hitting .413 so far this season, which is second-best on the team.

Cam met with The News on Wednesday before practice. The questions are in bold with her answers following.

Did you grow up in Mt. Pleasant? Yes.

How long have you been playing softball? Since I was eight.

Did you start with 'Hot Stix?” No, I started with 'Dirt-Devils.” My dad coached us, and I played with like, Bailey Johnson and my sister. I played with all those older girls. It was really fun playing with them. I grew up with them.

Can you remind me over your plans for after high school? Actually, it's kind of funny. So, I was originally going to Marshalltown, but their head coach got fired. So we had the choice to stay there and continue our scholarship with the new coach, or get released. I decided to get released and so now I'm going to SCC to play softball with them.

You and Trinity Krabill were going together, right? Yeah, Trinity is going to SCC now, too.

You and Anni (Liechty) both played varsity in eighth grade. How different is playing now than it was then? In eighth grade, it was more about following everybody else and what they were doing. Now that we're seniors, we have to kind of be the leaders on the team, and tell everyone where the play is going, give them heads up. Before, it was like listening to where we're going, listening to everyone else and all the upperclassmen. Now there are a lot more roles that we have to do.

Were you a lot more nervous as an eighth-grader? Oh yeah. I don't really get as nervous anymore. I've been playing for a while, so it's not as bad.

What is your favorite spot to hit in the lineup? Leadoff. I hit leadoff on my tournament team too, so I'm used to it.

What is the thing Coach Mears tells you most at practice or in a game? Oh gosh, probably to keep my head on the ball, because I like to pull my head a lot.

Do you have any superstitions? Oh yes. I wear the same socks, and they have holes but I wear them every game, I never switch them up. I wear the same pants, and they're an even number. I always wear my hear in double braids. I'm just like that. Or if I feel like I'm having a bad day, I'm always like, ‘OK, just drop it. You're going to have a good game.' So I kind of just go with the flow.

So you basically have to do sock laundry every single night? Yeah, and I've got bruises on my toes too but I don't change them.

Wait, the holes are in the toes? Yeah!

Do you have a favorite town to go play in? Probably Fairfield, just because they've always been our biggest competition. It was really fun splitting with them.

Who is your seat buddy on long bus trips? Trinity Krabill.

She's pretty much just your seat buddy in life, huh? Yeah!

How did you guys get to be such good friends? We met each other when we played for Hot Stix, and we actually didn't like each other at first. She played shortstop and I ended up taking her position, so we kind of just bickered about that. But we're really close now. We play on our tournament team together, so we've always played together, and I'm happy that we're going to college together.

When you're not at school or practice, what can we find you doing? My dad and I are always hanging out. We always talk about softball, it's all we do. If we're not at the games, we're either in the back yard hitting balls or talking about it all the time.

Who do you think gets more nervous when you're up to bad, you or your dad? I don't know, my dad and I are really alike. I'm always hearing him in the back of my head, telling me the things that he tells me to do. Every time I go up to bad, I'm just like, ‘do what dad says.'

If you could be an animal, what would you choose? A monkey maybe. Just because I like to jump around, and I'm hyper a lot.

What is the best place to eat in Mt. Pleasant? Press Box. That's where we go after every home game.

If you could hang out with one celebrity for a day, who would it be? Probably Ariana Grande, just because I listen to all of her songs.

Do you have a favorite song? No, I like them all.

She sings a lot of those songs where there are multiple singers, so could you lay down a couple of lines for her? Haha, no!

What if you could pick a superpower to have? Probably to read minds.

Favorite teacher? Probably Mrs. Moore. She was always so sweet, and she always made sure I had my assignments done, and she knew if I was struggling to call me and make sure that I was getting my things done that I needed to get done.

Any shout outs? Probably my dad. He's like my biggest role model, especially in softball. We always butt heads but I know he just wants the best for me.

Panther Profile is a series of interviews with Mt. Pleasant athletes currently in season. This season will focus on members of the Panther baseball and softball teams.