Despite having a young team with only three seniors, The OHS softball team nearly returns the entire roster with varsity experience. This season, the team is not letting their age define them but focusing on growing one pitch at a time.
“We don’t try to give them that crutch of saying, we’re young, they are gonna make mistakes,” Head Coach Dana McGivney said. “We just want them to feel confident in their positions.”
This message of confidence has carried over to the players. They are taking on a bigger role this season, including star two-way player Paisley Walls.
“I definitely have to step up and be more of a leader than I ever had before,” Walls said. “Just trying to stay as healthy as I can. Whether it’s pitching or in the field, or just trying to do the best that I can for my team.”
As the team continues to boost their confidence, the senior leaders are making sure the girls grow closer together and play as one.
“My biggest goal is improving communication,” M.C. King said. “I want us to eliminate individual cliques and really come together as one team, both on and off the field.”
That mindset is a big part of a larger goal this season. With facing different competition in a new district, the chargers are looking to prove themselves in a big way.
“We want to perform well in our district, and we want to do well once we make it into the playoffs and actually win a series,” McGivney said. “Being more consistent and then not getting frustrated when things don’t go our way and just go back to playing ball.”
That mentality is what the Chargers plan to bring every game, regardless of the score.
“I think we will really see our growth in our attitude heading into new games,” King said. “Since we don’t know what to expect from other teams, how we approach each game mentally will show how much we have improved.”
The Chargers have put in just as much work on the field as they have off it heading into this season.
“We have tried to implement all of the different parts of softball, offense, defense, special things like bunt coverages, 1st and 3rd place, all of these things, just to make them feel normal,” McGivney said. “We are going to be cognizant of making sure that we do it more often so that they have more reps at it to help their confidence.”
The Chargers know success is not measured by just the record on paper, but by the effort they bring every time they step up to the plate.
“Give our best effort every single game,” Walls said. “Whether we win or lose, just make sure we go out hard. If we take a bad loss and we try our best, then that’s all we can do.”
The team knows progress will not come easy, but they are focused on what they can control and are ready to put the work in.
“Honestly, more than anything, we just hope that they are good teammates,” McGivney said. “They are good competitors when they are playing, but they also work hard, other teams see how hard they work and the effort and energy that they put in.”
