1. What do you love most about being a student-athlete at Washburn Rural HS? My name is Justice McBurney and the thing I love most about being a student-athlete at WRHS is how supportive all the teachers and students are of each other as well as the relationships I get to build with my coaches and teammates.
2. What grade are you in and what is your favorite subject? I am in 11th grade and my favorite subject would have to be sports medicine because that is the career I want to go into for college and my future.
3. How long have you been playing softball and what position do you play? I have been playing softball for 12 years, since I was 4 years old, and I play 1st, 3rd, and pitcher.
4. If you could play any other position on the field, which would it be? If I could play any other position on the field it would be right field because I have never really played outfield before.
5. Who is the loudest teammate in the dugout? The loudest teammate in the dugout would probably be Henley Rapp just because her energy is contagious.
6. Where is your favorite place to play and why? My favorite place to play is the WRHS softball field just because I love playing on turf and being at my school where my friends and family can come to watch.
7. What is your thought process at the plate? My thought process at the plate is to just get one barrel per game. Coach Murphy talked to me about that mindset last year because I struggled with trying to hit a homerun every at bat which is never going to happen. When focusing on just going through my mechanics it is much easier to get a good hit or even hit a homerun but it will never happen if you just swing for the fences every time.
8. Who on the team keeps everyone laughing, who is the most serious and who has the best impression of your coach? A person on the team that keeps everyone laughing is Reagan Chapman because of her funny sound effects at the randomest times. Olivia Koch is the most serious and Henley Rapp has the best impression of Coach Galliart.
9. Who has been a big influence in your life? Explain. A person who has had a big influence on my life is my Wrestling coach, Coach Parker. I have grown up around wrestling as well as playing softball but I had never really loved it as much as I did playing on the field. During the fall of my freshman year I went through shoulder surgery and was not able to wrestle or do any preseason softball workouts. He taught me more about the mental side of being an athlete and how to cope with those strong emotions that not everyone thinks about. He guided me through the fact that sports are 90% mental and 10% physical because your mind breaks before your body does. Last year, I didn’t want to wrestle but he wouldn’t let me quit because he knew that I was capable of doing great things in every aspect of sports that I do. I will forever be grateful for him because he taught me how strong I really am.
10. What would you like to do after you graduate? After I graduate I would like to go to a 4 year University and play softball while studying exercise science to become an athletic trainer. I have dealt with so many injuries in my life and I am so thankful for the trainers that pushed me through those hard moments and I would love to do that for other athletes.
