Majam’s Magical Career Nears End
Kelly Majam has plenty of pop in her bat | UH Athletics photo
When I decided to do a story about Wahine softball senior centerfielder Kelly Majam, I got the same reaction from almost everyone I spoke to. “Wow, Kelly is a great softball player, but she’s even a better person.”
“Aww,” Majam says when I tell her that. “I try to be a better person. I want people to think of me more than just a home run hitter, but someone who also has a strong work ethic, and who serves my coaches and my team-mates in every way. I have God in my life, and I’ve learned a lot because of my Christian faith. People sometimes don’t understand how you can go through cancer and that it can strengthen you, but it can.”
Majam’s battle with thyroid cancer was well-documented at the time. It came after the most miraculous season in Wahine softball history, back in 2010, when she led the nation in home runs as a freshman, was named All-American, and the UH made its incredible run to the College World Series. Several months later, the Pine Valley, Calif., native was undergoing radiation treatment and wondering if she would ever play softball again.
“That first weekend back on the field, my red-shirt sophomore season, was one of my greatest memories,” she says. “I was nervous, but I came back from radiation treatment and proved I was here to play.”
Since then, she has been cancer-free, as well as one of the most proficient and popular players in Wahine softball history. Off the field, she is preparing for her post-collegiate career by working as a student teacher this year.
“I want to teach and coach,” she says. “I want to motivate kids to be active and healthy, and I want to help grow the local softball community.”
She student-taught physical education at Kalani High School in the fall and at Liholiho Elementary in the spring. On March 1, about 300 of her students at Liholiho showed up at a Wahine softball game to support her.
“They were so pumped,” she recalls excitedly. “They were cheering me on in everything I did, even in warm-ups.”
Majam jokingly had told her class that she would hit a home run for them. She made good on her promise, and then some. She tripled to lead off the game, and then sent the young crowd into a frenzy with a home run in the fifth inning of a 5-1 Hawaii victory over Western Kentucky. “It was so much fun,” she says.
Majam’s playing career at Wahine softball stadium ends this weekend when Hawaii hosts UC-Santa Barbara in the final home conference games of the season. Senior Day is May 4.
“It’s slowly hitting me that it’s coming to an end. It’s very sad,” she says. “But it’s not over. We have the kind of team this year that could go back to the World Series.
“Looking back, I’ve grown up so much in the last few years. I came here as a homesick kid from California, and I’ve learned so much both on and off the field that I think I’ve gained a lot of wisdom for a soon-to-be 23-year-old. This whole experience has taught me to live life passionately in every way. I’m very thankful.”
For sure, Wahine softball fans – and her current and future students – are thankful for Kelly Majam.
