VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (WTKR)- It's hard to set foot anywhere inside or around First Colonial High School and not see Kachelle Refour.
"I don't like to be still," the Patriot senior pointed out. "I like to constantly be doing something."
Refour has no problem keeping busy. She's the star centerfielder for the First Colonial softball team, which advanced to the second round of the Region 5A Tournament in 2021. It's the same sport her mother used to play.
"At first I really didn't want to do it because I was like 'mom just wants me to do it because she did it,'" Kachelle smiled. "Once I actually started playing and I got a little older and I got a little bit better, I was actually like 'this is fun.'"
"She guides the younger players," added First Colonial head softball coach Joe Winn. "When it's time to be serious, to get a hit, when it's time to win the game, if she's at the plate, game's over."
Kachelle recently committed to continue her softball career at Norfolk State, following in her mother's footsteps. Her talents, however, stretch far beyond the diamond. The senior has been on First Colonial's competition cheer team for three years, is the president of her senior class and is in the Legal Studies Academy.
"I think the accountability of sports and being involved in things and I just like to meet new people and make changes and influence where I can," she noted. "I like really being involved with the school things."
"That's not just making posters and getting everyone really excited about school," Winn pointed out. "It's planning ring dance, planning prom, planning homecoming, the various senior events that she has coming up this year."
So where does Kachelle's drive come from? She points right back to her family and her upbringing, noting that both her mother and father work long and hard at their respective jobs and wanting to do the same.
"Both of my parents are very hard working people," she said. "I really just want to be like that so I think almost sports kind of teaches me that now, to prepare for the real world."
The senior's leadership and impact both on and off the field are evident at First Colonial. When the dust settles on her education and her playing career, she'd like to see her impactful trend continue.
"I either want to work with children and adolescents or maybe some older groups," Kachelle said of her future. "We learn a lot about prison reform and trying to rehabilitate and stuff like that so that's also something I'm really interested in."
"President of the United States?," Winn said of his player's potential future. "However far she wants to go."
If you have a nominee for Esprit Decor Student-Athlete of the Week, send an email to marc.davis@wtkr.com.
