Friday Features: UNA’s Kyle Conkle uses social media to reach huge audience
By Mike Perrin
Baseball is a numbers game. It’s a math geek’s dream with batting averages, earned run averages, on base percentages, and a host of new-fangled measurements with odd abbreviations that show up in the boxscores – if you can find a boxscore these days.
Pitcher/infielder
Kyle Conkle put up some great numbers at the University of
North Alabama in his two years in Florence, especially in his first season in the Gulf South Conference when he earned first team All-GSC status as a designated hitter.
Conkle’s senior season wasn’t quite as stellar and he’s OK with that, but he has some off-the-field numbers that are amazing. Conkle is a superstar in social media. He uses his amazing reach on Vine – the six-second video sharing app where he has 118,300-plus followers and his videos have been watched almost 15
million times – to share his strong Christian faith.
“I feel obligated to say it all started with the infamous MySpace in the middle school years,” Conkle said, “then it progressed to Facebook, then to Twitter and ultimately Vine. The platform that I enjoy the most is, without a doubt, the account I have on Vine because of the impact I am able to have.
“I never expected when I downloaded the app to ever attract the number of followers that I now have, and I do not credit that to myself at all. God certainly works in mysterious ways and after sharing my Vines with a few popular ‘Viners,’ next thing I knew they ‘revined’ me and thousands of other people were seeing my posts.”
With 15 million views on Vine, 4,212 Instagram followers and 2,500 followers on Twitter, how does the 23-year-old from Fort Payne, Ala., find time to manage his online life?
“I really do not spend near as much time online as people probably assume that I do,” he said. “Having to maintain effective time management as a result of being a student-athlete is not easy and some days I even go without checking any social media. I try not to overwhelm followers by posting all the time, so I usually try to post in the morning, once every few days. Planning what I post is extremely important to me. I try to evaluate the context of the message, the delivery and, most importantly, make sure that it is Scriptural truth and not my own interpretation.”
After transferring from Darton State College in Albany, Ga., Conkle made a name for himself at UNA and across the GSC by batting .328 with 37 runs batted in, six doubles, two home runs and by drawing a team-best 40 walks. He was 9-for-11 in stolen base attempts and recorded a .971 fielding average. He also pitched his way to a 4-3 record with a 3.28 ERA, striking out 29 in 57.2 innings.
This season, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Conkle’s numbers on the field suffered in comparison. He batted just .200 with 16 RBIs and 23 walks. He stole four bases in seven attempts and had a .979 fielding average. On the mound, his ERA was 3.62 with a 3-4 record. He struck out 35 while walking just 12 in 54.2 innings.
The Lions finished 27-16 overall and 15-14 in the league, missing out on the GSC tournament. “This year was extremely tough to swallow considering the way that we started [7-1], but I wouldn't trade the group of guys for anything,” Conkle said. “Everybody bought in and brought their best daily, which is really all you can ask for. The result of the season had nothing to do with team chemistry or effort.
“I’d have to say the most valuable lesson learned was if you care about something, really care about something, remember it every day. Remember it on bad days especially. Remember it when you’re happy. Appreciate it. Love it. Be it. Live it. Feel it. Because one day it will be gone. There are only so many chances, so make the best of the chances that you have.”
Conkle acknowledged that his production dropped this season, but that’s not how he measured his year. “I’ve been very fortunate to have a successful baseball career and this season was the most successful baseball season I’ve ever had,” he said. “The numbers weren’t there, but I was able to invest in my teammates in a way that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
“This past summer while I was playing for the Athletes in Action Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks baseball team in the Alaska League, I finally realized I had been resting my identity in baseball instead of Christ and that I had been idolizing performance. I lead a small group for the baseball team and I was able to share this with them. After sharing, I prayed God would grant me the opportunity to exemplify Him even through failure. Needless to say, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I prayed that prayer, and as the numbers continued to drop off I continued to remind myself to be the example that Christ wanted me to be.
“Every time I stepped into the ballpark I was there for my teammates, not myself; which previously had not been the case,” Conkle said. “Attitude reflects leadership and I strived to portray the best attitude that I could every single day, hoping that it would make a difference to somebody. The way I look at it is that 10 years down the road nobody is going to remember stats, but what they will remember is how you impacted them.”
Conkle is a legacy student-athlete at UNA. His dad, Greg, played football for the Lions in the 1980s. “It’s been truly special,” Conkle said. “My dad graduated from UNA with the same degree I'm currently pursuing [Exercise Science]. I've been able to live with my younger brother, Clay, the past two years. I got the opportunity to continue my career with guys I played high school ball with. I've established relationships with teammates, coaches, faculty, students, and others in the community that are irreplaceable. I will never be able to give back to UNA what UNA has given me.”
The UNA-Fort Payne connection that Conkle mentioned meant that a few times this season the Lions had four former Wildcats in the field at once – Austin Carpenter at pitcher, Jess Smith at catcher, Conkle at first base and Kyle Crabtree at second.
What’s ahead for Conkle? “The next big step for me is getting married this June to Callan Buck, a former diver for the University of Alabama,” he said. “As a result of transferring schools, I will not be graduating this May, but I will be completing an internship in the fall and will graduate in December. I then plan to attend graduate school at UNA pursuing a master’s degree in Sports Management.”
Check out Conkle's social media presence, too, on
Twitter,
Vine and on
Instagram.
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Past Friday Features
11/07/2014 - NCAA Leader Chloe Richards Finds a Home at UNA.
11/14/2014 - Revival of a Rivalry.
11/21/2014 - VSU's Margaret Stauffer Finds Strength in Team, Family.
11/28/2014 - Union Off and Running.
12/05/2014 - UWA Coach Ray Stanfield Pushes Cross Country Teams to Top.
12/12/2014 - CBU Men's Basketball Making Noise.
12/19/2014 - Dickey Says UWG Football 'Right on Schedule'.
12/26/2014 - Youngsters Lead UWF Women.
1/02/2015 - UAH's Owens Rebounds From Car Crash With New Appreciation for Life, Basketball.
1/09/2015 - Freshmen Building Base for Lee Women's Success.
1/16/2015 - UWA's Chad Toocheck Overcame Addiction Lows to Reach Highs on Field.
1/23/2015 - Basketball Court at Delta State Named For a 'Legend'.
1/30/2015 - Shorter Basketball Coaches Celebrate Milestones Victories.
2/06/2015 - Union Outfielder Unfazed by Physical Challenges.
2/13/2015 - VSU's Courtney Albritton Rewriting Record Books.
2/20/2015 - Campbell Leaves 'Mark' as Union Women's Hoops Coach.
2/27/2015 - UNA's Spehr Leads From 'Down Under'.
3/06/2015 - Title Hopes For DSU Boosted By Triple Threat.
3/13/2015 - UAH Coach Les Stuedeman Lifts Chargers to Softball Greatness.
3/20/2015 - "Snow" Start Sidelines CBU Early.
3/27/2015 - Shorter's Ayana Walker Runs Her Way Into History.
4/03/2015 - Impairment Doesn't Slow West Florida Swimmer.
4/10/2015 - Early Lessons Boost UWG's Tyler Gunnin.
4/17/2015 - Delta State Football Hopes (Spring) Practice Makes Perfect.
4/24/2015 - 'High Energy' Fernando Gonzalez Helps Pitch UWA to the Top.
5/01/2015 - Union Trio Makes Runners' Pilgrimage to Boston.