Alumni Spotlight Series: Bari Christian, Saint Mary’s University

August 28, 2020

 

Bari Christian (Reagan Class of 2018) was a key member of the Rattler Softball team. As a 4-year Varsity letterman, she achieved many accolades during her time at Reagan. She earned the team Gold Glove Award three times; Academic All-District; All-Area Outfielder; All-District Second Team; All-District First Team three times; and Express News 6A Team.

Bari continues her success at Saint Mary’s University, NCAA Division II, as an outfielder.  She is currently in her junior year and majoring in Marketing. Recently, Bari took time to share with us her thoughts on her high school and college careers.

Q:  What has been your most exciting moment in college sports?
A:  The most exciting moment so far was hitting a walk-off my freshman year in our conference opener. Celebrating with my teammates after my winning hit was a moment I’ll never forget! It was a hot start to our season and we would eventually go onto win the regular season conference championship.

Q:  What is the biggest difference between competing in HS and college sports?
A:  The biggest difference has been the amount of time your sport demands from you. In high school, we practiced 2 hours a day. One of my busier days in college would be 6am weights, 9am-12pm class, 1pm-2pm study hall/break, 3pm-6pm practice and then have free time for homework and what not. Not all days are this demanding, but the amount of time softball requires from you is far more than it used to be. Spending this much time with your teammates turns them into your second family.

Q:  What has your experience been like during Covid-19 shutdown?
A:  Since our season abruptly ended last March, we have all been on our own as far as training. Our sports performance coach has done a great job of keeping us active on zoom workouts and even in-person conditioning sessions with him for those who are local. He would send out workouts you could do from home without weights, or if you had access to a gym there were weight-training options.

Q:  Which Reagan school tradition meant the most to you?
A:  My favorite tradition was our chant we would do when someone scored. I was always so excited to run to the dugout after touching home plate because I knew my teammates and I were about to get super hyped and do our scoring cheer.

Q:  What advice do you have for current Rattlers who want to compete at the next level?
A:  Get your name out there to all the schools you’re interested in and start putting in extra hours of training on your own! Developing a good work ethic will set you apart from other recruits and lead to good habits.

Thank you Bari for sharing your thoughts and advice for all Reagan student athletes. We wish you continued success in your upcoming season – Go Rattlers!

You can follow Bari’s softball career at Saint Mary’s University at https://rattlerathletics.com/sports/softball/roster/bari-christian/2442.