Millerton’s Kiersten Duncan shows leadership skills on and off the field

MILLERTON — It’s no small feat to be a student athlete. Whether during primary school or when in college, it takes a lot of determination and dedication to excel on the field as well as in the classroom.

Twenty-year-old Millerton resident Kiersten Duncan knows something about the balance that must be attained when pursuing sports and scholastics. The Russell Sage College junior is one of three captains on her softball team. She spends hours a day, most days of the week, perfecting her skills with both pen and bat. 

A nursing major, Duncan said she gets a lot out of competing at the college level. She was honored for her accomplishments this November when she was selected as one of two student representatives to attend the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. The other student representative was Tyler Schnaible, a Sage Colleges golfer from Ballston Lake.

“The greatest thing I got out of it was learning that every leader has a different trait: relationship builder, influencer, executer, strategic thinker. In order to have a great team you have to use all those traits,” she said. “Everybody always has to be counted, and we emphasize that leaders aren’t necessarily the best people on the field. They’re just the ones with the most to show or to help everybody with. We play Division 3, so we’re not in it for the money or big scholarships, just because we love to play. We just love to be in the game.”

And it takes a lot of work. Duncan, who graduated from Taconic Hills High School in 2015, played softball, basketball and field hockey competitively while there. At Russell Sage, she decided to focus on softball; the college recruited her to play on its team.

“I chose it also because softball has always been my favorite sport,” she said, noting she plays first base.

She said what some might not realize is that the game “is so complex — and it’s a team sport, so we’re always relying on working together.”

That sense of camaraderie appeals to Duncan.

“You can learn about being a leader and how to work well with others,” she said. “Sometimes, without that experience, one might not know how to work in group situations.”

Finding time to play sports and to study can be a challenge, she acknowledged, but it’s usually OK if one sticks to a schedule.

“It’s not hard if you use time management,” Duncan said. “The hardest part is to have a routine. Luckily, my coach is pretty good about making a schedule, which stays the same pretty much … though something could always change at the drop of a hat.”

A typical day for Duncan starts with a 45-minute commute to the Troy campus. She attends classes two days a week, completes clinical requirements two days a week, and spends another day “catching up on work.” In between, she practices softball.

“My days are usually pretty long,” she said. “I either go to night class or have more homework to do when I get home.”

But Duncan said she was glad she made time for the D.C. trip. There, she attended sessions to discuss sports and leadership strategies and philosophies. She even helped do some community service, as did her fellow student athletes.

While there, the students were divided into several groups, told to fill 625 “survival bags” for homeless youth in 20 minutes. Knowing what they respond to best, the leadership program made it a competition. The lesson wasn’t lost.

“As leaders, we’re fortunate enough to play the game we love to play,” she said, “but sometimes, someone has it a lot worse than you do, or is in an unfortunate situation. So being able to give back to others is always a good feeling. Being a good leader is always putting everybody else first before yourself.”