North Myrtle Beach’s Gore continuing family tradition of excelling as athlete

Makala Gore has plenty of motivation.

The North Myrtle Beach senior’s inspiration comes from her grandfather Bruce Henderson, who passed away in 2010 after a courageous battle with cancer. Henderson never got to see Gore play her favorite sport of softball in high school.

Gore, who made the varsity softball team as a seventh-grader, is also a member of the Chiefs’ basketball and tennis teams while playing softball year round, and is hoping to earn her way onto a college softball team, which would fulfill a dream she’s had since a young age.

And she wants to do it in honor of her late grandfather.

“Softball is my life,” Gore said Thursday before the North Myrtle Beach tennis team fell to Myrtle Beach. “Playing in college has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl and I want to do it for my grandfather since he hasn’t been able to see me play. [When] I made the varsity team my seventh-grade year, unfortunately, he wasn’t there for that.

“But I just think with all the hard work and dedication I’ve put in, I deserve to be playing somewhere at the next level.”

Gore’s tennis coach, Brianne Heinz, believes she’ll do just that.

“Everything she does, she does well. She’s an excellent athlete, she does great in school and she’s just a great person,” Heinz said. “We’re gonna miss her next year. She’s a great kid and has made a name for herself. She’s definitely gonna go somewhere and I’m excited to see what’s in store; We’re hoping she can go play college sports.”

Gore – a utility player for the North Myrtle Beach softball team – finds her way into the box scores a lot.

And playing the sport year round has certainly helped elevate her game.

“Travel softball has been the best experience,” said Gore, who plays for the Coastal Lightning premier team. “It keeps me well rounded and prepares me for the high school season.”

The 17-year-old Gore could be considered a seasoned veteran of the sport already.

“I’ve been playing softball since I was 4 years old and I’ve been playing travel ball since I was 10,” she said. “I haven’t really had any time off since.”

Gore and Coastal Lightning took part in a showcase tournament this weekend in Spartanburg, and she said plenty of college coaches were in attendance.

She’s hoping to take advantage.

“It is not really a win-or-lose tournament. It gives you an opportunity to put your skills on display for a lot of coaches at a lot of different levels,” she said. “I’d like to thank Mckewn Dannelly and his wife Brandi for inviting me to play for the Coastal Lightning. They have been involved at the college level so their insight and guidance has proven to be very useful.”

In her five years with the varsity softball program, Gore has made quite the impact.

She was named as an honorable mention on the All-Region VII-AAA team her seventh-grade year and made Second-Team All-Region as a freshman. As a sophomore, she was First-Team All-Region and last year as a junior, Gore made The Sun News’ Toast of the Coast team.

She wouldn’t mind adding a few more, either, as she hopes to raise some eyebrows with her play on the field this season.

“I’m really hoping to improve this year and get a scholarship,” said Gore, also the tennis team’s No. 1 singles player.

Gore’s sister, Taylor, is a junior at North Myrtle Beach and a three-sport athlete as well as she plays with Gore on the softball, basketball and tennis teams.

The two quarrel from time to time, but they’ve always got each other’s backs.

“We bump heads a lot but when it comes down to it, she’s always there for me,” Gore said about her sister, who is exactly one year, one month and one day younger than her. “So, yeah, she supports me but I’m telling you, we bump heads a lot and argue. But in the end, we always support each other.”

Said Taylor Gore: “Yeah, we get at it sometimes. But my sister tells me what I’m doing wrong and I like that. She helps me. She helps me stay focused. If I’m down, she’s always cheering me on, like, ‘Taylor come on, you got this!’ She’s a really nice sister; I love her. I love her so much.”

Even the coaches take notice of the sibling rivalry.

“They play basketball, softball and tennis together so they’re together all the time. It’s funny to see how Taylor kind of looks up to Makala but doesn’t always like to show it,” Heinz said. “But when there comes a time when they need each other, they’re always there to support one another. They have a great relationship and fight just like normal brothers and sisters do. From a coaching standpoint, it’s kind of interesting; you’ve got to deal with the sisters butting heads in the middle of practice when you’re not really coming across something like that very often.”

Said Chiefs assistant tennis coach Dave Kranstuber: “It’ fun. It’s a lot of fun. They’re both good-natured girls and they’re not too competitive, they both just like to go out and play, have a good time. They’re very focused, though. They still want to win but they just enjoy playing.”

Taylor Gore also plays travel softball and during the summer, her team picked up a win over Gore’s Coastal Elite team.

“She didn’t take it very well,” Taylor Gore said with a chuckle. “We’re both really competitive in softball and I love playing on the [varsity] team with her because she’s my biggest supporter and I’m hers. She helps me improve my game because she’s really good. I hope I can be as good as her one day.”

In tennis, the two haven’t played doubles matches together, but they’ve played together in the past.

“She’s so competitive,” Taylor Gore said. “It gets overwhelming sometimes. She gets really angry when she loses a point.”

Meanwhile, Makala Gore said having to jump from sport to sport can get tiring.

“Soon as tennis is done, I go straight to basketball workouts. Soon as basketball is done, I go straight to softball. I never have a break,” she said. “… I think tennis is a fun sport. The thing about tennis, though, is that it’s all about you and it’s individual. So when you mess up, it’s all on you. Whereas, playing softball and basketball, they’re both team sports so it’s definitely a challenge jumping from a team sport to a more individual sport. I always enjoy a challenge, though.”

Kranstuber said he thinks playing multiple sports has helped Gore tremendously.

“To have a background in basketball and softball helps her because she has the ability to track a ball and those sort of things; all that is natural and that translates to [helping her with] tennis,” he said. “She’s just a great athlete and she’s hardworking. She’s just got a natural ability and she loves sports.”

Gore said her whole family does, too.

Her mother, Brandy Henderson, played softball in high school and introduced her to the sport. Gore’s grandmother, Karen Henderson, introduced her to tennis.

“I give a lot of credit to my mother and my grandmother,” Gore said. “They both got me into sports as a little girl and sports are a big thing in my family. My grandfather was always around helping me play softball, too. They all helped me become who I am today.

“I’m just blessed to say that, you know, I have my family, coaches and teammates to support me in everything I do. And I’m blessed to say I have the ability to play any sport and be really good at it.”

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 7:03 PM with the headline "North Myrtle Beach’s Gore continuing family tradition of excelling as athlete."