By Taylor Shillam| Photo courtesy of Ashley Horst
Andrew Karns, Senior Coeur d’Alene High School
Coeur d’Alene High School (CHS) senior Andrew Karns is a two-time All-Inland Empire League (IEL) infielder and shortstop for the Vikings baseball team. Andrew is well-versed in hard work, with continued success on the field, in the classroom, even pursuing innovative business opportunities on his own.
On the field, he has learned how to make a strong return from difficult setbacks.
“One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in baseball is overcoming a meniscus repair and, a year later, a re-tear and second surgery,” he says. “These surgeries really pushed me back behind my competition, and I had to learn patience and hard work through physical therapy.”
In the classroom, Andrew enjoys math and science classes and currently holds a 3.81 weighted GPA at CHS. Following graduation, his sights are set on schooling in Hawaii.
“I plan to play baseball at Chaminade University in Honolulu, Hawaii,” he says. “I am going to be playing with a Lake City competitor and close friend Joe Decoeur, who will be catching there.”
Andrew hasn’t yet decided on a career path but knows he wants to continue pursuing what he loves. “I am drawn toward business and math,” he says, and plans to major in business in college.
Independently, he’s already demonstrated his knack for business and creative ways to make an income.
“As a young kid, I always tried to find ways to make money, from finding and selling golf balls to shoveling neighbors' driveways during snowstorms,” he says. “Currently, as a side job, I go thrift shopping and garage-sale shopping and make money reselling those items online.”
Along with his various successes, Andrew has become comfortable with the concept of failure.
“One life lesson I’ve learned from baseball is that failure is okay,” Andrew says. “In baseball, more than half the time, you fail. The best players in the world fail most of the time in this sport—so you have to train yourself mentally to be okay with failing, because it's just part of the game, and part of life.”
That training is what he enjoys most about his sport: the ongoing challenge that invites continued learning and growth.
“The thing I like most about the sport of baseball is that there are so many aspects of the game that can always be improved, which makes it challenging,” he describes, “including hitting, fielding, base running, or overall IQ.”
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