Alexus Gibbs plays many positions for her softball team but shortstop is her favorite. “I like shortstop the most because you’re the captain on the field and a lot of balls get hit to you.”
Playing catcher and third base adds to her versatility.
She is a freshman at Altus High School who enjoys athletics. Softball has particularly influenced her life. It is teaching her valuable lessons and skills. “Never give up or quit and keep pushing,” she says.
The time spent perfecting her skill is challenging and rewarding. “Your body hurts a lot of the time and you don’t have free time to do anything.” Despite this, her love for the game runs deep. “I started playing pre-T-ball, then actual T-ball. That’s when I started to realize how much I loved the game,” says Alexus.
She wants other young players to see the work she puts into her sport. “I hope that younger softball players look up to me and work just as hard as me.” Representing her school is a way to let these young players see firsthand that their hard work can also pay off.
“If you want to play that spot, work hard for it. It’s not going to be handed to you,” is the best advice she says. Her mom and dad are her biggest inspirations. They instilled a strong work ethic into Alexus by being tough on her and believing in her.
Alexus does not look up to just one teammate. She admires her entire 14U Velocity team. This team went to Gulf Shores, Alabama, for nationals this summer, where they came very close to winning the title. “They were all funny and even though we were losing, we still fought to come back,” she said.
Their fighting spirit showed as they battled for a comeback. “We were behind on a 2-10 count in the bottom of the 5th inning and fought hard and came back after every teammate was able to make it around the bases and touch home.”
Alexus has big dreams. Her goals include playing both college and professional softball. She doesn’t plan to rely on athletics alone. Storm chasing is one of her favorite things to do. She wants to study meteorology in college so she can continue her post-athletic career studying and predicting the weather.
