Kindra Hackbarth brings a different energy to life, an energy that is usually remarkably goofy and filled with laughter, smiles, singing and dancing.
As her twin sister, Maddi Hackbarth knows this all too well. Their mom, Mary Hackbarth, laughingly said she can’t remember when the last time her daughters weren’t singing or dancing and laughing.
Mary says Kindra and Maddi have been dancing since before birth, which has caused no dull moments in the Hackbarth household. She said they had "battles" in the womb when she was pregnant until they were born at 30 weeks, premature on Jan. 3, 1998, which led Mary to call them her "Wundertwins."
Despite the birth complications, Mary laughingly described why she thinks Maddi was born before Kindra.
“I think she won the battle or just got fed up with Kindra because Kindra came out a code blue with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck,” Mary said.
When asked about that situation, Kindra immediately started to laugh and added that she wouldn’t be surprised.
“It probably did happen,” Kindra said. “She did flip and turn in there and she probably was like, ‘You know what? Screw you. I want to be an only child,’ and tied me up.”
Now, Kindra and Maddi are juniors on the ASU softball team and have excelled as starters since transferring from Fresno State after their freshman season, which only reinforces the “Wundertwins” title.
Last season, Kindra and Maddi exceeded expectations and this season they have helped fuel the explosive offense for No. 21 ASU. As the lead-off hitter, Kindra has a team-high .420 batting average with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs as an outfielder, while catcher Maddi has a team-high with home runs with 16 and RBIs with 43 as a catcher.
For Mary, it has been a dream to have her twin daughters play collegiate softball together.
Other than softball, though, Kindra and Maddi don’t have much in common.
“People think that because we are twins, we are going to have so much stuff similar,” Maddi said. “But we are really two completely different people. She is more of the girly-girl that likes to dance and have a good time, and I am more of the tomboy that is a little bit more serious.”
Maddi says because of this, her and Kindra balance one another out. Throughout life, they have built a connection, including what they believe is twin telepathy.
Kindra knows that she sometimes annoys Maddi, including in public at dinner or maybe just at home while she watches television.
“But do I stop? No,” Kindra said. “I don’t because she is laughing, and if you are laughing then you are not mad.”
Kindra loves to make people laugh. She says she always does goofy things in hope to lighten other people's moods, and she doesn’t care when she happens to look like a fool.
On a “goofy scale,” Kindra believes she tops the list, especially on the Sun Devil team. However, she thinks freshman outfielder Olivia Miller could contend with her while senior outfielders Skylar McCarty and Morgan Howe follow closely behind.
“I am very goofy,” Kindra said. “I mean, I am really weird. I am just different.”
Kindra sometimes randomly pauses and laughs at herself for a moment.
“I laugh at myself all the time,” Kindra said. “I will just sit in the outfield and start laughing because of something that I think about just randomly. I look at Morgan and she is like, 'Why are you laughing?’ I don’t even know.”
Although Kindra dances and sings every chance she gets, Mary and Maddi both laughed, saying that Kindra thinks she can dance amazingly, and Mary noted that she definitely isn't a singer. Maddi said that Kindra always requests that she record her doing a dance she sees on social media, but that always leaves Maddi laughing because it is so uncoordinated.
Maddi added that Kindra always controls the music in the softball locker room and loves to play her music and dance, especially her favorite dance the "Hit Dem Folks," while she stands front and center for everyone to watch. However, Kindra didn't necessarily show this personality with the team until recently.
Maddi described it as hilarious and said that it always puts the team in a good and laughing mood.
Kindra said that despite any laughs, she isn’t shy and nothing will stop her.
“I am not a good singer,” Kindra said. “I do admit that I do kill some notes. I do hit some notes that are very good, but I am not the best dancer either. I mean, my rhythm is not the best, but I make it work.”
Kindra's goofy personality is complemented by her extreme love for Taco Bell, and she even has a Taco Bell sweatshirt.
When asked her go-to Taco Bell order, Kindra instinctively blurted, “Two Cheesy Gortida Crunches with no lettuce, a chicken and cheese quesadilla, a Crunchwrap Supreme with no lettuce or tomato and a large Baja Blast,’” which she said totals to about $21.
In the end, Kindra said she just loves to be happy and that her personality helps her play softball.
“You never know when your last day is going to be, and I don’t want to live so serious,” Kindra said. “I want to live my best life, and I want to live my best day every day.”
Reach the reporter at nahiatt@asu.edu or follow @NATE_HIATT on Twitter.
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