MaxPreps Weekly Honor Roll, presented by the United States Marine Corps: Kristan Fisher, Cocoa Beach

With a future Division I pitcher in the circle, Kristan Fisher had to mature quickly behind the plate.

She was thrust into the starting catcher job on the Cocoa Beach (Fla.) softball team as a seventh-grader, a move that's paid dividends over the years.

"My first year I was very nervous," said Fisher, who caught Megan Kugelmann, now a star pitcher at Florida International University. "I was very timid, I wouldn't really talk much. But now I'm one of the top leaders on my team and I always push my girls to do better because when they do better, it makes me do better. They feed off me because they always look at me. So, I just have to go out with a positive attitude and show them how to be a leader."

Fisher recently wrapped up her fifth season as the Minuteman's starting catcher. She's now a seasoned veteran and a leader defensively and offensively.

The 17-year-old capped her junior campaign by playing nearly flawless in the field. She committed one error and allowed five passed balls. At the plate, the team's cleanup hitter had a .441 average with 25 RBIs, 18 runs scored and seven doubles.

In her first two years as a starter, Fisher hit under .300. The last two seasons, her average has skyrocketed above .400.

Since she's so balanced as a player, it begs to question, where is Fisher more valuable, defensively or offensively?
"That's a tough call," Cocoa Beach softball coach Wayne Moore said. "I would say behind the plate. I do have a couple backups, but then that hurts me other spots — it definitely hurts when she's not back there."

Moore has watched his catcher transform from a shy seventh-grader to an upperclassman who vocally leads the Cocoa Beach squad.

"Every year just more confidence," said Moore, who has coached Fisher her entire varsity career. "Her skill set has gotten much better behind the plate. … She had to grow up quick. She did a heck of a job."

Fisher looks at catching as an art. And like a true artist, she's a perfectionist. So, when she committed her one and only error of the season — she only had two errors as a sophomore — it stung. It still haunts her to this day.

Fisher is always more focused on her defense. She knows if she's a steel trap behind the plate that's the best way to help her team.

"I try to make my pitcher's look the best that they can be and stop every ball that I possibly can and not make it go behind me," said Fisher, who while in-season works with a private instructor every other day to improve her catching skills.

Fisher had arguably her most complete season as a junior.

"Mainly because we got to see her, with the exception of a couple of games, the whole year this year," Moore said. "Whereas the last couple, she's been sidelined with injuries."

The injury bug has hampered Fisher in her softball career. As a freshman, Fisher sustained a concussion and was sidelined for a number of games. In the fifth game of her sophomore season, Fisher broke a few tiny bones in her wrist but only missed five weeks of action. She went on to hit .487 and scored 13 runs in just 12 games that year.

In previous summers, Fisher has played on the Tampa Mustangs club softball team. However, this year she's looking for a different 18U team to play for to draw maximum exposure to college coaches.

Moore believes Fisher has major Division I-caliber talent.

"I believe she can play," Moore said. "She's been getting looks."

The University of Central Florida, Kansas State University and Wichita State University are high on Fisher's list.

Fisher, who also plays soccer at Cocoa Beach, knows this will be a big summer to attract more college interest. But Fisher feels she's sitting well with coaches who want a versatile, defense-first catcher who can also sting the ball at the dish.

"I see some catchers, they can struggle because they focus more on catching than hitting — or if they hit bad they won't catch well," Fisher said. "Catching, it's like studying for homework. If I study, I'm going to do well. It's that mindset."

Speaking of homework, Fisher is a diligent student in the classroom. With her junior year winding down, Fisher has a 3.4 grade point average while taking four honors courses this semester.

It's amazing she's able to maintain such solid grades despite her busy extracurricular schedule.

As a freshman, Fisher heard about the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) program offered through her school. She became interested in the Army program because students are able to earn college scholarships. Fisher, whose dad was in the Marines, joined and loved it.

Along with going through rigorous training and drills, JROTC cadets get involved in community activities. When a color guard member was needed for a high school graduation in mid-May, Fisher jumped at the opportunity to serve.

Taking part in JROTC gets extremely hectic when cadets are competing in the Raider program, which is similar to a lower -scale boot camp. While preparing for competitions — there are three within a four-month span — cadets wake up at 6 a.m. weekdays and are training by 6:30 a.m. On Saturdays, cadets get up at 5 a.m., set up for two hours and compete in events. Any schools that qualify for state — entire teams advance, not just individuals – competes in a three-day camp.

For the last two years, Fisher has won the Iron Woman Award, which only has two recipients per year in Florida. Fisher participated in a series of events, including a 5k run, push-ups, pull-ups, shuttle run, sit-ups to see who wins the competition.

"It was more just to see how good I could push myself more than competing," Fisher said. "In my opinion, I thought I did very well."

Fisher, currently a sergeant first class, will finish out JROTC next year and obtain the rank of platoon sergeant.

Being a part of JROTC has been influential in Fisher's life.

"It's taught me how to work better on myself and to work on others and push them to be the best that they can be," Fisher said. "Also, to never really go against anyone — to always be positive towards people and influence them."

Fisher is big into volunteering her time in the community. She takes part in beach clean-up and playing softball with kids who have disabilities.

This past February, Fisher was instrumental in helping pull together the first Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Tournament in Brevard County. She helped promote the event locally and through social media. During the weekend of the event, Fisher made the tough choice to skip her prior commitment with JROTC to volunteer for the tournament, and helped it run smoothly. That same weekend, Fisher also played a big part in running the Little League Challenger Program — which is an adaptive baseball program for individuals with physical and intellectual challenges.

Fisher loved devoting her time to a great cause.