Where Are They Now -- Hailey Flexter

Athletics led Hailey Flexter to where she is today . . . Managing human resources for a large logistics company in Golden, Colorado.

"I fully believe athletics are the reason I am where I am today," said Flexter. "They taught me the meaning of hard work, to always push yourself to be better and taught me the value of teamwork. You get the amazing opportunity to meet so many people and make great lifelong friendships. I can't imagine a life in which athletics weren't a part of it.

"I work for a large logistics company with sites all over the United States and Canada. I manage the human resources department for one of our sites. I handle all HR related matters such as payroll, employee relations, hiring, disciplinary matters, etc.

"I'm honestly not a hundred percent sure what led me to my career. I knew I wanted a career I could be proud of and I wanted to work myself up to a high level of management. I shadowed someone in HR when I was in college and just kind of decided I would give that a try and, thankfully, it's worked out. I truly love my job."

Flexter graduated from Altamont High School where she played softball and volleyball. In softball, she was named Offensive Player of the Year her sophomore and senior years and was named All-National Trail Conference three years. In volleyball, she was the Most Valuable Player and Honorable Mention. All-Conference her senior year.

"My dad was an athlete and definitely exposed me to sports at a very young age," said Flexter, the daughter of George and Kim Flexter. "Whether it was watching baseball or football or playing catch with me in the backyard, it consumed about 99 percent of my life until I was 22 years old."

Flexter graduated from high school in 2011 and went on to play softball at Olney Central College and then on to Purdue University Calumet. She majored in business management.

"A memory of a game that stands out in high school was my senior year," said Flexter. "We were playing a doubleheader against St. Anthony at their field. I was the first batter of the game and I hit a home run on the very first pitch. I believe I continued to go seven for eight those games with a couple of doubles and a triple. We also were ranked first in the state that year for a couple of weeks.

"A memory from my college career was when I was playing at Purdue Calumet and we were playing at this field that was hard as a rock. It needed watered so badly. Our team did not play very well that day. We were all just off. I was playing third base and had a simple ground ball hit at me and it took a funky hop and I bobbled it. It was something I could have fielded clean if I would have charged up on it. I received an error on this play.

"I played third base for every single game we had that season, which was 50-plus games, and that was the one error I made the entire season. That's something I still remember to this day."

Softball is still Flexter's favorite.

"It's by far my favorite sport to play. I still play on a women's fastpitch league. Football is my favorite sport to watch on TV. Of course I always root for the St. Louis Cardinals in baseball and the New England Patriots in football, although I may have to swtich to the Buccaneers this year."

As most people who know Hailey's dad George, here at the radio station, know he's a big Tom Brady fan. Brady got traded to the Buccaneers this year from the Patriots.

What advice would Flexter give athletes?

"I would definitely tell them that hard work does not go unnoticed. If you want to go to the next level and play in college, make sure you get your name out there, reach out to coaches yourself, if need be. If you truly love the sport that you play, all the weekends you can't hang out with your friends because you're out of town for a tournament, or all of the nights you can't go out because you have a game the next day, they are all worth it. I promise. There's not a day goes by that I don't miss softball. Oh, and take care of your body when you're young (stretch and ice all the time). Your body will thank you when you're older!"