Pitching, hitting, throwing and fielding. The game of softball is about many things, but physical contact isn't one of them.
Tell that to Kara Buehler, though.
The Skaneateles catcher isn't one to shy away from a collision behind the plate, which is just one reason why many opposing players don't attempt a lot of steals on her.
“Last weekend (in a doubleheader against Phoenix), there was a girl that tried to steal from third and it ended with her in tears,” Buehler said. “But that's how it usually ends.”
Unlike a lot of softball players, Buehler loves punishing runners when she gets the opportunity. But not only does she protect the plate like any great goalie protecting a net, the senior has one of the strongest arms on the Lakers' squad and is known as one of the best catchers in the Liberty league.
“Kara is probably an all-league catcher,” Skaneateles coach Bob Braunitzer said. “She's good enough to catch for someone like (Jordan-Elbridge pitcher) Colleen Ryan, but we're lucky enough to have her catch for Alex (Hughes). She's good with both of our pitchers and she's earned enough respect where people don't try to steal on her much anymore. Some teams will still try, but she throws them out and then it gets their attention.”
Buehler, who has played goalie for the Skaneateles girls soccer team and defense for the hockey team, started playing softball to keep active in the spring and has been a varsity player for the Lakers throughout high school. While hockey is her main sport - she will be playing for Plattsburgh next season - she said that it isn't softball that keeps her in shape for the winter sport, but the other way around.
“Hockey helps me get ready for softball,” Buehler said. “Playing defense in hockey works my upper body a ton since I have to push other girls around a lot and it helps with my toughness in softball.”
And tough she is.
While she will do everything in her control to prevent a steal, she has no problem getting them herself. She led the Lakers with 12 stolen bases last season despite taking it personally when it happens on her watch.
“I hate it when other players try to steal. I feel like I have to show them that they can't get there,” Buehler said. “I like to play it tough when they try though, it gives me that chance to get some contact. When someone steals second or third, it's one thing. It's when they try to steal home that I get to have a lot of fun.”
Even when she isn't body-checking brave opposing players, Buehler still finds ways to have fun. Even when the Lakers didn't win a game during her first two seasons on the team, she was the one trying to lift her teammates' spirits. Through five wins and a Section III playoff game last season and a 1-2 start this year, she has maintained the same upbeat attitude.
“Sometimes when things aren't that good, she will pop up and say something to make us all laugh, and that's what it's really all about: Trying to do as good as you can because not everyone is going to win a championship,” Braunitzer said. “You want to enjoy what you're doing when you do it. She keeps it that way around here.”
Added Buehler: “It's just comic relief. If things get too serious, I don't play well. I have to have a certain lightness because if it's too serious, I tend to over-analyze the simple stuff. If I crack a joke, everyone loosens up.”
Braunitzer calls the aggressive jokester, “The best athlete on the team,” and though her classmate Kate Minturn holds the captain title, Buehler is one of the most vocal leaders on the roster. And the player that the team long ago nicknamed “Dirt” for her ability to get down and dirty behind the plate, hopes to lead the Lakers to an even better finish than they had last year.
“I'm a really bad loser,” Buehler said. “I like to strive because losing is such an awful feeling for me. I just want us to do well.”
The Skaneateles catcher isn't one to shy away from a collision behind the plate, which is just one reason why many opposing players don't attempt a lot of steals on her.
“Last weekend (in a doubleheader against Phoenix), there was a girl that tried to steal from third and it ended with her in tears,” Buehler said. “But that's how it usually ends.”
Unlike a lot of softball players, Buehler loves punishing runners when she gets the opportunity. But not only does she protect the plate like any great goalie protecting a net, the senior has one of the strongest arms on the Lakers' squad and is known as one of the best catchers in the Liberty league.
“Kara is probably an all-league catcher,” Skaneateles coach Bob Braunitzer said. “She's good enough to catch for someone like (Jordan-Elbridge pitcher) Colleen Ryan, but we're lucky enough to have her catch for Alex (Hughes). She's good with both of our pitchers and she's earned enough respect where people don't try to steal on her much anymore. Some teams will still try, but she throws them out and then it gets their attention.”
Buehler, who has played goalie for the Skaneateles girls soccer team and defense for the hockey team, started playing softball to keep active in the spring and has been a varsity player for the Lakers throughout high school. While hockey is her main sport - she will be playing for Plattsburgh next season - she said that it isn't softball that keeps her in shape for the winter sport, but the other way around.
“Hockey helps me get ready for softball,” Buehler said. “Playing defense in hockey works my upper body a ton since I have to push other girls around a lot and it helps with my toughness in softball.”
And tough she is.
While she will do everything in her control to prevent a steal, she has no problem getting them herself. She led the Lakers with 12 stolen bases last season despite taking it personally when it happens on her watch.
“I hate it when other players try to steal. I feel like I have to show them that they can't get there,” Buehler said. “I like to play it tough when they try though, it gives me that chance to get some contact. When someone steals second or third, it's one thing. It's when they try to steal home that I get to have a lot of fun.”
Even when she isn't body-checking brave opposing players, Buehler still finds ways to have fun. Even when the Lakers didn't win a game during her first two seasons on the team, she was the one trying to lift her teammates' spirits. Through five wins and a Section III playoff game last season and a 1-2 start this year, she has maintained the same upbeat attitude.
“Sometimes when things aren't that good, she will pop up and say something to make us all laugh, and that's what it's really all about: Trying to do as good as you can because not everyone is going to win a championship,” Braunitzer said. “You want to enjoy what you're doing when you do it. She keeps it that way around here.”
Added Buehler: “It's just comic relief. If things get too serious, I don't play well. I have to have a certain lightness because if it's too serious, I tend to over-analyze the simple stuff. If I crack a joke, everyone loosens up.”
Braunitzer calls the aggressive jokester, “The best athlete on the team,” and though her classmate Kate Minturn holds the captain title, Buehler is one of the most vocal leaders on the roster. And the player that the team long ago nicknamed “Dirt” for her ability to get down and dirty behind the plate, hopes to lead the Lakers to an even better finish than they had last year.
“I'm a really bad loser,” Buehler said. “I like to strive because losing is such an awful feeling for me. I just want us to do well.”