This year, the high school softball team has a new season ahead of them. The team is getting many new players because many freshmen are coming to play.
The coaches have played in high school. Coach Christie Klausman, ninth grade math teacher, has played in second base, outfield and shortstop. Coach Sandy Catherman, eighth grade math teacher, played outfield, pitcher and shortstop in elementary school. She also played outfield, and she was a designated hitter in high school. Coach Klausman is the head coach of the high school softball team, and Coach Catherman is the assistant coach.
Many of the players have been playing for many years. Bethany Kudlawiec and Savanah Gray are two of these players. The other freshmen on the team are Andrea Parrish, Katelyn Evans, Cassandra Hall, Emily Little and Marena Simington.
“I have been playing for five years, and I have been playing for the junior high for three years,” Gray said.
“I have been playing since I was four, and I have played for the junior high for three years,” Kudlawiec said.
There are many different positions in softball just like in any other sport.
“I am the catcher and pitcher,” Gray said.
“I am second base and pitcher,” Kudlawiec said.
As in baseball, softball has an outfield and batting. The player has their favorite spot to be in. Kudlawiec and Gray disagreed on their views of the field.
“I like outfield better because I don’t like the pressure of batting,” Kudlawiec said.
“I like batting because outfield gets really boring,” Gray said.
The girls practice everyday from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The players do multiple different exercises.
“I think practices are going really well. I am seeing a lot of good things. I wish we had better weather,” Klausman said.
“The weather has been terrible, so we haven’t been on a field yet. We have practiced on the turf, but you have to practice on a field to see how the ball will react when it hits the dirt,” Catherman said.
“We do a bunch of exercise, and we run a lot,” Gray said.
The players also have to do conditioning for the sport.
“We do one, three, five, seven, nines and wall sits,” Gray said.
Kudlawiec said that one, three, five, seven, nines are when the players run across the gym. That is one. Then they run back and forth across the gym until they reach nine. After this, the players have to go back down from nine to one.
The players must do a lot of things to warm up for games.
“They strengthen their arms, condition, practice hitting, and just practice. Some of the girls are in a different position, so they have to practice different positions. And just be comfortable with their positions,” Catherman said.
“We have to get ready. We have to figure out who will play what position and what signs we will use,” Klausman said.
The players and the coaches are excited for the season, and Coach Klausman thinks that the girls will do very well. Coach Catherman hopes for a good season.
“The girls that are seniors on the team, I coached in the junior high. We have a really nice group of freshman, and I am excited to see them. I think the season will go really well. I think we will have a definite winning season,” Klausman said.
“I know we will be very competitive. I’m hoping we do well, but I can’t say because we play teams at the high school level that we didn’t at the junior high,” Catherman said.
The first softball game is at Central on Friday March 22, 2013. This game is to be made up on April 17. The game that is supposed to be played on March 26, 2013 has been postponed until April 5 due to the weather.
