Drotar Enjoys Chance to be Coached by Childhood Hero
Many athletes had childhood sports heroes. Not many get a chance to grow up and be a part of the same team with those they tried to emulate, but when former South Carolina outfielder Kaela Jackson (2011-2012) returned to her alma mater this year as an assistant coach after three years at Michigan State, it was a dream come true for junior pitcher Cayla Drotar.
“I was so excited!” Drotar said. “When I saw it posted that she was our hitting coach, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh! She’s coming home!’ I thought about how I used to watch her play, and now she’s going to by my coach. I’m not going to lie, I did the ‘fan girl’ thing a lot when I was little.”
“I always remember that ‘KK’ (Drotar) was always around,” Jackson said. “She and Krystan White (2015-2018) were always around when I was a player here. They always wanted to catch our eye and talk to us any chance they could. I remember seeing this little adorable red-haired kid running around. I couldn’t understand a word she said because she was so country. She was the sweetest kid. I got to know her a little better when I became a volunteer assistant (2015) and gave some hitting lessons. By then she was committed to us, and to see this great personality develop was so great.”
“I always kept it in the back of my mind how loose she was in games and how she kept the game fun,” Drotar added. “I tried to take that into my games or tournaments when I was younger. It was always fun when I stepped on the field. I felt like this is what I do, but it’s not who I am, and that’s how she carried herself. I tried to keep that same mindset.”
“I always wanted to coach the kids that are on the team right now.”
– Kaela Jackson, Assistant Coach
Hailing from Hartsville, S.C., Drotar grew up as a fan of the Gamecocks and took pitching lessons from South Carolina head coach Beverly Smith as a child. That’s when she had the first opportunity to see Jackson in action.
“I didn’t know her very well, personally, but whenever I did see her, she was always spunky, happy to see me and happy to greet me,” Drotar said. “That made me feel very welcomed and loved. It was always good to see her because she always had a smile on her face.
“I did like watching her play. She was fun to watch because she was so spunky. Being so young, that was a good thing for me to see; seeing her love for the game.”
“I was never a very flashy player, but I played with a lot of passion,” Jackson said. “I never knew that stood out, so it was really cool to hear that!
“I always wanted to coach the kids that are on the team right now. I gave lessons to a lot of them when they were younger or hosted them at camps. I think I’ve known six of these girls from camps when they were little. I’m really blessed that the opportunity came open. I knew exactly who they were before I got here.”
Drotar has grown up from being the little girl in the stands and has blossomed into an outstanding two-way player for the Gamecocks as a pitcher and a hitter. As a sophomore she led the South Carolina pitching staff with a 21-7 record and was tied for second on the team with 10 home runs.
“Getting to work with her is awesome,” Drotar said. “From watching her as a player, playing against her when she was an assistant at Michigan State, and now playing for her is so cool. Our relationship is awesome. Obviously, she’s my coach, and I respect her. Outside of softball, she is someone I can go to and talk to. I treat her like my big sister. I love her to death.”
Drotar credits Jackson with helping her to stay confident.
“She has helped me a lot,” Drotar said. “In high school, I felt like a boss. When I first got here, I don’t know where that Cayla went. This year, Coach Jackson has really helped me bring back that Cayla. She tells me to remember who I am and why I am here. She has helped me come a long way on the mental side of my game.”
“I hope she has learned that she is more than a ball player,” Jackson said. “She is an incredible human being. I want her to see herself as this incredible, empowered young woman who is going to change the world, not just on the mound, but outside of softball.”
Jackson noticed Drotar’s mental toughness early on when the team stopped to watch her as a youngster while getting a lesson from Smith. Smith challenged her to hit an exact spot with a pitch in order to be excused from the usual conditioning drills while the team watched.
“She wanted to see how she handled the pressure,” Jackson recalled. “So, there’s a group of college student-athletes staring at her, and she nailed it. That’s something special. That’s a kid who can get it done when the lights are on. From then I thought, ‘I really hope that kid comes here!'”
Now that Drotar is wearing the Garnet and Black, Jackson sees her as someone young fans admire and emulate.
“I know there are so many little girls that look up to her,” Jackson said. “It’s pretty incredible to see that come full-circle.
“KK is a pretty lucky girl in the way that she has been raised. Her parents have really done such a great job with her. She is humble, and she is a hard worker. She is one of those kids you are really blessed to coach.”
