By Derrick Smith

Athletes choose to play sports for a variety of different reasons. For some, it is a game that they love and they cannot get enough of it, while others started the sport because their parents made them and they just stuck with it. For athletes like Jerzey Ybarra, the reason is more than just that.

“I enjoy the game of softball because to me it has always been my place of peace,” she said. “Every day I come to the field I feel as if I’m home and it has brought some of the best memories in my life.”

Ybarra, who is a graduate of Altus High School, plays softball for Western Oklahoma State College. She says that softball has been a part of her life for as far back as she can remember.

“I fell in love with the game at the age of four,” Ybarra stated. “Since then, I have had many iconic softball players at the highest-level influence me to pursue softball at a higher level myself.  I chose to play at WOSC because I wanted to stay close to my family and I wanted them to see me play every day.”

Jerzey is pursuing her associate degree in Liberal Arts. She has chosen this because it will allow her to get her general education credits and then she knows what her plans are after that. 

“After Western, I plan to pursue my education in cyber security,” she stated, “getting my bachelor’s in Computers Science then my master’s in Cyber Security. I am unsure what school I want to go to next after Western but I’m doing some research on what is best for me.” 

Remembering where she was at one point in her life, Ybarra has some advice for the younger generations of softball players.
“If I could say anything extra it would be for all the younger girls that want to pursue softball at a higher level to continue working hard and never let anyone stop you from believing your dreams can become a reality.”