KELSIE SPELTS

BLOOMFIELD -- Softball is a game where no "official" cheerleaders are involved but all sorts of chants and cheers can be heard from both dugouts all throughout a game. The Bloomfield Lady Cardinals are no exception, but the softball team does possess one very spirited and vocal player in the form of Kelsie Spelts.

The junior plays a limited role on the team, but for the action that she does not see on the field of play, she more than makes up for with her enthusiasm inside the dugout. With three freshman, including her younger sister Kendra, in the starting line-up, it would be very easy for the elder Spelts to get discouraged and not be mentally into the game. But Spelts chooses to take the higher road and contributes to her team from on the bench.

"Kelsie is just a very unique individual and has a very uplifting spirit about her," Lady Cardinals head coach Jessica Lauderdale says. "She's fun to be around and there are not many people like Kelsie."

To the casual observer, Spelts may seen like a ball of fire that is wound up on a case of energy drinks or was just injected with a IV full of caffeine. Although the verdict may still be out on this debate, one thing is most certainly sure, Spelts can make the best out of a bad situation.

"Contrary to what people might say, that's just how I am, I am just an upbeat and happy person," Spelts said laughing after being asked how she is constantly in a chipper mood. "I try not to be in a down mood and I just like to make people happy."

How does Spelts approach those who try and get her to calm down somewhat throughout the course of a game?

"I get that often, and I am like 'WHOA, you are in a bad mood, you want a hug?', and then they are automatically in a better mood."

With the success the team has had this season, it is easy for most to be in a good mood, but Spelts has her work cut out for her after a loss. The junior said that Kendra is probably the one that takes a loss the hardest.

"My sister is probably the one that is most affected from a loss and I just tell her that she did good and that she has three more season left. And sometimes we end up in a little fight, but that's OK cause that is my sister. And for others, it is usually resolved with a hug and maybe some jokes."

Lauderdale pointed out that about the only time she has noticed Kelsie to be in somewhat of a bad mood is during one the time the two sisters are engaged in a fight.

"The only real time that I've seen her upset is when her and Kendra are fighting," Lauderdale said. "But that in itself is funny just because of the way the two fight."

When asked if there would be one game during the season that she could start, the junior said that she would want to start the first game of the sectional.

"Sectionals for sure, the first game," said Spelts, who also is a cheerleader during basketball season and a back row specialist on the BHS volleyball team. "That way when we win sectional I could be like 'I helped with that and got us here, that was me, yep'."

With the type of personality Spelts possesses, one could only speculate that cartoons would be a favorite to watch. But such is not the case. Kelsie mentioned that she likes watching the Disney Channel and "That's So Raven" is her favorite show.

Its only fitting that with the gift of making people smile and laugh, that Spelts, a key component of Bloomfield's 2006 volleyball sectional championship team, plans to pursue a career in nursing or pediatrics once she graduates from high school.

"If I can help make people smile here, hopefully I can help other people when I get older," Spelts said of her future plans.

"She can make just about anyone laugh," Lauderdale said. "I have really enjoyed having her around. She is always there in a moments notice when I need her and she never complains."