Northern Softball Team Prepares for Upcoming Season
Northern softball has had a history of ups and downs. They have experienced the highs of being state champions, as well as the lows of losing seasons. This year's team hopes to make a run in the playoffs after coming off an 8-12 season.
“I think we will be better than last year because we all have team chemistry this year,” junior Macey Ellis said.
Teams perform differently every season. They could struggle to produce runs but are great on defense. This can prevent a team from being state champions and be the reason that they do not make playoffs.
“Our strengths are the overall talent. Many of us have been playing for a long time and have lots of experience,” senior Melody Harmon said. “Our weakness is that we are a new team. We have lots of incoming freshmen that we never played with before.”
For the softball team, the off season is just as important as the regular season. The off season can include hitting in the cage or weight lifting. It is also a great way to build team chemistry which is essential to the team's success. Players can improve greatly over the winter which can help them succeed when the season officially starts in the spring.
“We have done a lot of work outs and mini practices to get ourselves ready for the season,” sophomore Riley Horton said.
Pre-game rituals can be a fun and superstitious way to start your game. The rituals can differ from team to team. Some players may prepare for a game by drinking a certain color of Gatorade or sitting in a specific seat on the bus. Activities like these can bring a team together and start traditions which can last for years.
“We all put our right foot on third base and we pray before the start of every game and we sit in the same seats on the bus ride,” sophomore Emma Roberts said.
High school coaches have one of the hardest coaching jobs because their team changes every year when seniors graduate. Some years you may have two seniors but others you might have 10. This can cause every season to be unpredictable since the teams strengths and weaknesses are changing every year.
‘So far we [have not] had the drama we had last year and we are having fun at practice,” Head coach Boo Rigsbee said. “We have good team leadership with Melody and Kaysi being our seniors.”
The softball team's first game is on March 10th against Southern Durham High School. The team hopes to get a fast start so they can be playoff contenders this year.