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Hanson Has Huge Season at the Dish for East Haven

Kara Hanson played for East Haven’s volleyball and softball teams throughout her four years of high school and she made an immediate impact with the softball squad. Kara grew up playing tee-ball, softball, and baseball and all that experience had her prepped to step on the field right away as a freshman.

“I knew I had an opportunity to play. I pushed myself hard and, after every practice, I went and practiced extra with my dad,” says Kara. “I’d practice off a tee by myself for hours and knew I had to keep working hard because I knew I wasn’t going to be given the spot. I had to push myself and that hard work allowed me to keep the spot throughout all my high school years.”

Kara was both an outfielder and a pitcher when she joined the softball team, allowing her more opportunities to see the field. Kara’s junior season was when she shined as a pitcher by registering a 6-2 record in 56 innings. Kara achieved that while hardly ever throwing a fastball as she admits it’s a pitch that she doesn’t have much confidence in.

“I throw a curve, screw, and change. I rarely throw my fastball because it’d get hit, so I’d stick with the others,” says Kara. “I worked hard on making sure those pitches were very accurate, so I wouldn’t have to throw my fastball. If I needed to throw it in a situation, I would, but I’d refrain from doing that a lot because I had more confidence in my other pitches.”

Kara’s pitching career came to an end due to an arm injury. After throwing a lot last summer, Kara developed a reoccurring pain in her arm that she thought was tendinitis. In order to ensure that she’d stay on the field, Kara became a full-time outfielder and wound up improving her numbers at the dish this year. Kara posted the Easties’ best batting average at .458 to go with two home runs and 23 RBI, while helping the club continue its run of Oronoque Division dominance.

“Her shoulder was bothering her, so we decided to rest her, so she could concentrate on hitting,” says softball coach Ed Crisafi. “It’s a good thing we did because she led the team in hitting at .458 and got to the 100-hit club, finishing with 102 hits for her career...With her not pitching this year, I think it helped her focus more. She had one less thing to worry about and had a tremendous year at the plate.”

Kara spent plenty of hours working on her batting skills with Coach Crisafi and assistant Jeff Crisafi and she spent even more time with Yellowjackets’ hitting coach Amanda Acampora. Add in the work that Kara did with her dad and by herself and it equated to many hours with a bat in her hand.

“I hit off the tee a lot in the offseason. I would hit every single day,” says Kara, who hopes to play softball at York College in Pennsylvania next year. “When we did hitting, I’d make sure I did everything correct off the tee because I focus on tee work. I’d have my dad front toss to me, too, and even during games, I’d go off to the side and time the pitcher with my swing.”

One of Kara’s favorite moments of her high school sports career came in her junior season, when the Yellowjackets topped Fitch in the Class L state championship game.

“It was even better since we lost in the state championship the year before,” says Kara. “It was a really great feeling because, going into that game, everyone thought we were going to lose. We were doubted, especially after the first inning, but we pulled through and had a lot of tenacity. We didn’t give up and let the No. 1 team stomp all over us. It was a good feeling to know we proved a lot of people wrong.”

Kara also showed vast improvement in her senior season on the volleyball court. She finished the campaign with 46 kills, 38 aces, 154 digs, and 12 assists for another squad that won its division title.

“In volleyball, I played right side, but I was put everywhere at some point. I was put in as libero, setter, played outside, and a little bit of middle,” she says. “Sometimes it was a little hard to adjust at first, but I didn’t mind it that much. I worked on every aspect skill just in case.”