Buddy Roberts

sports@newsaegis.com

A member of Victory Christian School’s varsity tennis team has been elected to a leadership role in an international service organization.

Kasey Gamble was elected lieutenant governor of Division 7 of the Great Alabama District of Key Club International in January during the organization’s winter rally at Moody High School.

A Key Club member for three years, the junior explained what her new position entails, why helping others is important to her, and why she enjoys participating in prep sports.

Key Club:  Affiliated with Kiwanis International, the organization promotes civic awareness and community responsibility in young people.  Members are required to spend a minimum of 50 hours per school year working on service projects.  Gamble said her sister Megan introduced her to it.  “It’s all about helping people.  The Key Club motto is, ‘Caring is our way of life,’ which explains why I’m in Key Club.  I do care about people, and I like making people’s days better.”

Responsibilities of the lieutenant governor:  “I’ll be serving as the liaison between our division and the district board, hosting the fall and winter rallies, and working with the advisors and officers for Key Clubs in the district on their service opportunities.  We’ve been collecting Coke tabs for the Ronald McDonald House and feeding the homeless, and I’d like to see clubs start visiting veterans’ homes.”

Gamble’s district:  It includes Key Clubs in all St. Clair County high schools and Pinson, Shades Valley, and Talladega Central high schools.

How she describes herself:  “I’m definitely a people person. If somebody needs me to help, I’m going to be there.  I’m determined to get things done, and I want them to be done the right way.”

Something she helped get done this year: The formation of Victory Christian’s Builders Club.  “It’s for students in grades six through eight, and it gets them ready to be Key Club members.  It was really awesome to see the younger students so eager to get started on their 25 hours of community service projects, and they were determined to bring more cans for a food drive than the Key Club did.”

At Victory Christian:  Besides the local Key Club, Gamble is a member of the Beta Club, Student Government Association, cheerleading squad, and tennis team, serves as co-editor of the yearbook, and has participated in the Distinguished Young Woman scholarship program.

Her favorite subject:  “Calculus.  I haven’t actually taken it yet, but pre-calculus was my favorite.”

About cheering:  “Cheerleading is my thing, really.  And it is a sport.  Cheerleaders do a lot.  It’s not just standing there and saying, ‘Go, team.’  We stunt, we learn routines, and anybody who says it’s easy doesn’t know what it’s about.”

Cheer stunts:  “Stunting is super fun, but it takes hours to master them.  It takes a lot of determination and perseverance.  When you catch someone and get a bloody nose in the process, it’s hard to say, ‘Let’s try that stunt again.’”

About tennis:  Gamble began playing as an eighth grader.  “I tried playing softball before that, but I was awful.  With tennis, I had something bigger to hit the ball with.  Plus, my sister Kayla was on the tennis team when she was in high school.”

Why she enjoys the sport:  “It’s all fun.  I like being with my friends and meeting new people I’m playing against.”

The sport’s biggest challenge:  “Aiming the ball where the other person can’t hit it.  Tennis is definitely a mind game.”

Her parents:  Keith and Katrina Gamble.

After high school:  “I’m planning on trying out for cheerleading at Jacksonville State or North Alabama.  I’d like to be part of Circle K, which is Key Club for college students, and then a member of Kiwanis afterward.”

The greatest challenge facing today’s high school students:  “Perception.  I’ve heard multiple people say we’re a lost generation, but I couldn’t disagree more.  We are a part of the community, and many of us want to help make it a better community.  If helping people doesn’t make you happy, I don’t know what will.”

Overcoming false perceptions:  “A lot of times, teenagers are thinking that other teens think they’re better than you.  In reality, we all think the same thing, and starting conversations is a way to get past that.  Sometimes people are afraid to talk to people they don’t know, but you should.  That’s how you make new friends.”