The diamond has always been a safe haven for Kamden Verone, an incoming sophomore at Yelm High School. She has played the sport for more than a decade and has developed great friendships along her journey.
“I enjoy the community you build while playing this sport and spending time with your friends playing a game that you love,” Verone said.
Verone has enjoyed her success helping her team, youth TABU Fastpitch, capture the West Coast Premier Tournament Championship in 2020. But the highs in sports are never constant and are often underappreciated without adversity.
While competing for TABU several ago, Verone struggled at the plate and fell to the bottom of the batting lineup.
“I was really discouraged about it because I wasn’t doing very well,” she said. “I needed help because I was tired of not doing very well, so I reached out to a few people.”
Verone was determined to bounce back. She asked her coach for extra hitting lessons and slowly improved her confidence at the plate. She said working out with longtime friend Dustin Stephan, owner of Youth Athletics Recreation Development [YARD] in Yelm elevated her game and boosted her confidence. YARD was formed in November of 2021 to help young athletes with physical, mental, emotional and leadership development.
“I’ve gotten stronger physically and mentally, which Dustin helps me a lot with,” Verone said. “I enjoy hitting with Dustin. He really tries to help me work out every detail with my hitting.”
Her mother, Kelli Verone, has seen her daughter improve, as well.
“Over the last few years, she’s really grown leaps and bounds,” she said.. “She struggled for a while, and she has put in the work. Dustin has always told her that he believes in her, and he’s always been like, ‘I know I can help you. We can work on this.’”
Stephan pushes Verone because he understands what she’s capable of and is driven to help her reach her potential in softball. The two have known each other for nearly a decade after being neighbors, and he also coached her brother, Jack, in baseball, so their close bond has turned into a dynamic coach-player relationship.
“Kamden is a fantastic athlete, and she has built confidence in herself since she started training with me,” said Stephan, who wrote in a June Facebook post that Verone is his “most dedicated YARD athlete.”
Verone eventually moved to the top of the batting order, stepping up to the plate with renewed confidence. The right fielder competed on the Yelm High School junior varsity team as a freshman last season and will join Washington Thunder, a youth softball team based in University Place, Washington, as well.
Verone comes from a baseball family; the majority of her mother’s side of the family played or coached baseball. According to her mother, she has a great sense of humor and enjoys spending time with family and her dogs, and she enjoys baking cookies with her grandmother.
“She’s probably the most genuine 15-year-old girl,” Kelli Verone said. “There isn’t anybody out there that doesn’t like her. She’s just a great kid. She works hard. Any mom would be proud of her, and I’m very, very proud of her.”
Tryouts for the varsity softball team begin in the spring, which Verone, her family and Stephan hope will propel her to reaching her goal of playing collegiate softball down the road. After all, Stephan named her immediately when prompted to think of a rising athlete with whom he works.
“I feel like Dustin could probably see that this is something I want to do,” Verone said about Stephan’s efforts to help her reach her goal.
