Anna Kimbrell, USA Women's Baseball Player/Instructor, Joins the Alan Alford Sports Talk Show!!!

Welcome everybody to another great episode of the Alan Alford Sports Talk show. I'm Alan and today we have an outstanding guest for you. We have none other than Anna Kimbrell from the USA women's baseball team. That's right we have Anna joining us. We're gonna have an outstanding show on the Alan Alford Sports Talk show but before we get started let's go ahead and thank our wonderful sponsor Chef G's Florida barbecue sauce. So delicious and addicting you may need a support G right here in beautiful Tampa Florida at 301 South 22nd Street Tampa Florida and if you can't come down to Tampa it's no worries please feel free to visit any one of four great flavors right at flbbqsauce.com again it's flbbqsauce.com we're gonna bring Anna on right now have an outstanding show on the Alan Alford Sports Talk show let's go. All right so we're joined by the wonderful talented Anna Kimbrell so from the USA baseball team so we'll actually start right there. How is it being a member of the USA women's baseball team? Oh man being a part of team USA with USA baseball is is you know it's always amazing anytime you get to wear USA across your chest I mean there's just no greater feeling and being in another country representing your own country getting to play a sport you love you just can't beat it. Yeah that's that's you're right you just that's the best of the best right there and how did you become a member of the team? Oh man I'm going to show my age a little bit so the first time I tried out was in 2006 I was 15 years old and I didn't end up making the team because I told my ACL they had wanted me to be a part of the team as a catcher but you know it was unfortunate I think a week or two after tryouts I came home and I was playing with my local guys team and in game just the deceleration movement for my ACL and I couldn't go and compete but 2007 we had a developmental program with the women's team so I went to that and then unfortunately for me I was able to make the team in 2008 and I've been blessed with the opportunity to be a part of the team since then so quite a few years now. Yeah I mean definitely you made it that's perseverance right there and and you went ahead and now you just went back from Uganda how was that trip? Yeah Uganda was awesome it was actually my second time over and we went back in 2019 thanks to Maggie Meilinger one of my teammates for hooking us up with that and it's always it's always a great experience but it was even better this time because we got to see the progress from 2019 the first time we went over there was no girls or women's baseball going on and now they have seven regions playing so it's all shifted a little bit from you know like your basics how to hold a bat how to how to throw all those sorts of things to actually having good baseball conversation with the girls about you know rundowns and situational baseball stuff like runners on first and third or whatever the case may be so just watching the sport grow so much there has been really cool to be a part of. Yeah and you the USA team has to do a lot to do with that because you brought it down there you started showing them what does that make you feel like when you see another country taking baseball on as much as they have. Man it's pretty amazing honestly just knowing that I was a small part of that means a lot to me and and this this last trip just talking to the girls and saying you know like we want you to have a team to come play us and just to like watch their eyes light up and it's almost like they never even thought that was a possibility but just to be able to to see that glimmer of hope and inspiration in their eyes was like it's one of the coolest things so I mean just overall awesome awesome experience and you know again thanks to Maggie and USA Baseball for providing me with so many opportunities. Yeah Maggie's awesome I had a chance to interview her actually that's where I saw you at the All-American Women's Baseball Classic talk about that event. Yeah so the the All-American Women's Classic has been put on the last two years by Suze Depey with American Girls Baseball a great event she does a really good job of putting it together and and we get to play at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota which is is really cool it's nice to be able to play on those spring training facilities and and and work out there so yeah this year I think was a pretty good success my team didn't do so hot but that's okay there's always next year right so it's still an overall great experience anytime we get to get everybody together and play that's what we need you know our our women's program with Team USA like the more we can get girls playing and and kind of help create that feeder system just giving girls and women opportunities to play the better so awesome event I think she's planning a third event next year November so if any of your listeners are are interested it'll be in Sarasota usually the weekend before Thanksgiving so hopefully we can get some more fans out. Yeah I mean it was a great event and I would have to say all the girls and women you actually can really really play I think people take that for granted talk about the talent level that's actually on these teams. Yeah so it's four teams the Comets the Bells the Peaches and the Blue Sox all the four original teams from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League back in the 1940s during World War I think it was two maybe World War One I don't remember but it's kind of cool just seeing the talent level there because it's four teams 60 girls or women in total and I mean we had players from obviously the states we had some players from Canada we had a few from Australia I think there was even maybe Puerto Rico was represented as well which is really cool because you're not just getting like the local Americans to come out and play it's like top level talent from from around the world so I think just being able to have that experience and the high level of play is is really big for our game. It is I mean definitely you guys are doing girls and are doing your thing women are doing it big and for you personally what was it about baseball I said you know what this is a sport that I need to play? Well honestly it it all started when this is going to sound crazy it all started when I was about two I was on a beach here in South Carolina and I saw a guy and his girlfriend or friend I don't really know but they were throwing a baseball and ever since then it's like that piqued my interest and here we are today you know like like every other kid I started playing little league baseball with t-ball and then coach pitch and then kid pitch and and all the travel teams high school ball all those sorts of different things but it's just always been my love my first love and my true passion and now that I'm older I coach middle school baseball and also give lessons so it's just it's just a true passion to me I just love the game I love everything about it and I just now as I said as I'm older I just want to share that passion and keep growing the game because at some point it's not going to be about me as a player it's going to be about my kids as as players you know so I really just enjoy just sharing what I know and and teaching them new things and you know helping grow their game so that maybe hopefully one day they can achieve their dreams whether it's high school ball college ball national team maybe even MLB for some of the kids you know so it's just something that I just love sharing and baseball's been so good to me so I feel like it's my duty to to give back to the sport yeah and a lot of people don't know that that you actually do coaching as well as playing so explain about your coaching passion to help others yeah middle school baseball this will be my third season as the head coach at Pleasant Knoll Middle School in Fort Mill and just to see the kids grow as a team and as a player has been one of the coolest things to me obviously I do like I said private lessons here I've got a cage at my house so it's fun to work with my individual kids but then whenever you put so much time and effort into a team and just watch them grow and see you know you see a kid lay down a squeeze bunt to win the game like that's one of the coolest things ever because you work on it work on it work on it work on it and then to see them implement stuff like that in the game and then they just lose their minds you know because like they know how hard we've all worked to get to that point so I just really really enjoy sharing my game and my passion for the game with really the kids of all ages I mean it doesn't matter if they're four years old or or 24 years old I just enjoy helping everybody out as much as I can yeah that's awesome man definitely if someone gets coaching from you they're going to be doing all right explain to how people could you know follow and keep up with you to get that coaching yeah so I have a website it's www.ak9.org for all my local folks around the Charlotte area I'm just south of Charlotte so you can actually go on there buy merch you can book a lesson and you can find all my info there as far as on on Instagram you can follow me at ak9 underscore catching or at akimbo24 actually it may be akimbo9 now I don't remember I should probably know that but either one of those you can reach out to me and I'm happy to help out in any way and whether it's you know you're a far away and and you just want to do like some send me some videos or whatever and I can do my best to help whoever out yeah one huge supporter you have is your mother Sandy and she talks so glaringly about you before I got a chance to even meet you and talk about her her input your your mother's input in your baseball career and personally oh man my mom's been there every step of the way you know my dad as well but my mom's a little bit more involved in the baseball side my dad's my dad's the home the home field support you know uh but my mom she's I mean she's been here and there and everywhere following my career and you know I'm so grateful that she's pushed me and helped me continue to chase my dreams as a player now that I'm getting older you know she's she's all about you know hey here's a coaching opportunity or whatever as well so yeah just always full-on baseball my biggest supporter and you know I'm very grateful for for just everything that she's helped me out with along the way yeah that's really awesome to have that fan support and and your mother is looking out for you so definitely we're gonna keep in touch with you and and follow you and your journey with whether it be you playing continuous or coaching so keep doing what you're doing because you're I appreciate it you know that's what moms are for right that's right always in your corner no matter what so yes yeah I appreciate it it's uh it's been a good ride I'm I'm getting older now but still enjoy playing and I play four nights a week here in Charlotte and she comes to most of the games still but yeah I just I really appreciate the support from her from you and from anybody else who's who's looking for something for their little girl to even get involved you know maybe maybe their little little girl plays baseball and now they have somebody that they can they can find and and support and vice versa I'm all about helping the little girls as well that's truly awesome and I gotta ask you before I let you go I know people girls look up to you is there any baseball player that you actually look up to when I was a kid the first chapter book I read was it about Babe Bruce so about the time I was let's see that was in second grade so about the time I was what six seven I decided to be Yankees fan please don't hate me for it if you're if you're any other team's fan but I grew up a Yankees fan but Derek Jeter was always always my player that I looked up to always very level-headed great player on the field great person off the field and so he was my my male my male role model but back then honestly about the only female I knew playing other than the Silver Bullets was Isla Borders and you know she was playing with the St. Paul Saints and Duluth Dukes I think they were in the Northern League but I mean she was the only person I knew that was living what I wanted to be you know so I didn't actually get to meet her until I was a little bit older we actually coached on a team for the Trailblazer series and so that was my first time getting to meet her but it was it was really cool to finally get to meet someone who I'd looked up to and aspired to be for you know my whole life yeah so it's great that it's coming full circle that somebody's gonna meet you that you motivated them so I hope so yeah so keep up the great work I know you're doing a coaching session in fact today so we'll hold you and really appreciate your time Anna thank you yes sir thanks for having me on you're more than welcome take care and God bless you too thank you bye-bye now