Season Summary -- With Stats

    I’ve never had a fall season with so few games; we only played 19 of the 24 scheduled. I’ve had seasons during the spring, when you expect the rain, with more games. I was especially disappointed that we didn’t get to play, and parents didn’t get to watch, the Hancock Tournament. But we can’t be disappointed with the big picture, or the team picture above, which is, hands down, the best of the 40 high school teams I have now coached.

This year was particularly challenging because our JV was so young, with 10 freshmen and only 3 sophomores. Our sophomores, Hannah Love, Maggie Pool, and AnnaClaire Bryant, modeled the kind of leadership we needed and we wouldn’t have been able to check off as many of our goals without them. And there is no better place, when talking about leadership, to recognize the invaluable Roschan Rao who brought so much more than chips and dip to the party.

We have essentially the same goals every season.

1 - Create a culture of winning   √

2 - Develop players to be ready to play at the varsity level.   √

3 - Train players for positions needed in the next year or two at the varsity level.   √

4 - Train players in how Webster plays softball, in terms of both skills and attitude.   √

5 - Teach “Win with class, lose with class.”   √

6 - Develop a cohesive team with a family feel and respect for teammates.   √

7 - Encourage a well-rounded student athlete with a sense of priorities.   √

8 - Build softball skills and knowledge in individual players.   √

That’s not the royal we, incidentally. We at Webster are blessed with a large coaching staff that tries to model the concept of teamwork. We aren’t a varsity coaching staff and a JV coaching staff; we’re just the Webster softball coaching staff. We are lucky to be led by a head coach Bryan Gibson who has dedicated himself to building a program respected around the area. Dave Knapp and Sam Pitlyk worked with the girls and we were lucky to have volunteer Coach Chris Fechtel, as well. My official assistant, Coach Leah Poe, has been a tremendous asset to the program, the girls, and me personally. If you were watching other dugouts, think how many JV teams showed up with just the head coach.

We just talked to the girls today about redefining normal every year. That was true this year, and will be true again next year, but we’re looking forward to working with our returning players and adding new ones from the Class of 2019. But for now, let’s look backward and celebrate a successful 11-8 season with some stirring victories and individual highlights. As usual, we’re posting the 2014 (unaudited) season stats, with the previous year’s included for comparison. And, as always, thanks for the tremendous support we receive from the parents.

    As a side note, I’m including a link to some articles on my personal blog that are softball related, although not necessarily to this team. Content warning: Because it’s my personal blog, other articles elsewhere on that blog’s (Don’t Get Berndt) pages contain personal (and occasionally political) opinions and observations that not everyone may like. I’m not intentionally provocative, but if you’re easily provoked, well, consider this fair warning! Finally, no matter how bad some may have thought I was, I contend I was still better than Mike Matheny. Just saying....

On Cheering

Worst Part of Coaching

Accidental Coach

Coach

Ugly Wins > Ugly Losses: Webster 15, McCluer North 12

With apologies to Moms Mabley, this win was so ugly that if you put it on a tombstone it would hatch ghosts. Despite a flat start, we came back and finally prevailed.

Nevertheless, it was truly a team win, with important contributions from each and every player. Claudia LeSage provided most of the pop with a double and triple, scoring three runs and driving in four. Olivia Weik set the table at the top of the order, reaching base four times and stealing four bases. In the game’s most exciting play, she scored from second base on a bunt single by Emma Hintze.

Our fielding, unfortunately, was as rough as the field we played on and we threw the ball around a little. However, we turned a pretty double play in the seventh to stifle a Stars rally when they tried to run the bases as aggressively as we did and ran themselves out of an inning for the second time.

Perhaps previewing the tandem approach that we may use next year, ACB and Grace Behrle alternated in the circle to secure the win. The Stars, Coach Poe’s alma mater, are a new addition to our schedule and proved a worthy, athletic opponent and kept us uncomfortable all day long. If you think we got cheated out of games by circumstances beyond our control, this loss finalized their season record at 3-3.

I’ll post a season wrap up later, probably over the weekend, along with season stats. For now, thanks to all the girls for their hard work. I can confidently say that we met the goal of seeing improvement in every player and look forward to watching them continue to grow in the Webster Softball program. See you at the end-of-year party, hosted by the Loves, on October 18.

Wrong Kind of Lightning: Fox 16, Webster 7

For a while we put a scare into the Fox Warriors, putting them on the ropes. We played fast, aggressive softball, took good at bats, ran the bases well. But a Fox pitching change, added to the fourth time through the lineup gave our opponents too many bites at the same apple; they adjusted, put good swings on the ball, and we made some mistakes on balls hit hard and soft, the result being a 13-run sixth inning and a 16-7 loss. Halfway through that inning, as the skies darkened, I suggested to the coaches that what we really needed was lightning. Unfortunately, the thunder was only coming from Fox bats. We did finally put a stop to the Warrior attack and got to the plate for our half of the seventh without falling victim to the 10-run rule. Sadly, the score alone makes the loss look far more one-sided than it really was.

One thing we are trying to learn is to limit our losses, to take the easy out and stop the bleeding, to keep from prolonging a big inning. While true at any level, it is especially important for JV teams, where things can get out of hand in a hurry. Despite the game being seemingly out of hand, we did put two runners on in the seventh, but couldn’t quite adjust to the second Fox pitcher.

I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do against Hazelwood West tomorrow and Marquette on Friday, leading into the (apparently chilly) Hancock Tournament on Saturday. The girls have done a good job of applying what they’ve learned this season and are making good progress.

Two final plusses: Claudia and I have clearly mastered to glove-bat exchange toss (see pix below) and Amy Love sent a beautiful message to Fox re: their absurd $3 admission fee. I also complained as we entered, suggesting schools should play people to watch JV softball, not the other way around. Apparently not the first complaint they’ve heard. I’m looking for parent volunteers to manage Admission Tables when Fox and Seckman come to visit. Webster families will be issued a pass with their athletic fee. Just sayin’....

Rounding Up the Longhorns; Webster 18, Parkway West 3

This wasn’t the game I would have picked as the warm-up to three upcoming tough games and the Hancock Tournament, but the girls did as good a job as possible of playing their own game and not letting down to the level of the opposition. We also inaugurated the striped socks to good effect. I was especially pleased that they did a much better job than previously of staying back and driving the ball against a very slow pitcher.

We enjoyed welcoming Olivia Weik back with two hits, as she was finally cleared to play and got rid of the cast on her hand. This was actually her first action on the field and she did a great job of staying involved and being a great teammate despite her own inability to play; she worked hard at the one thing she could do, base run. ACB was her usually steady self and notched her 8^th win as we moved our overall record to 11-6. Kate Nieman drove in the walk-off game-ender with her second hit and third RBI. We got some additional playing time for some of the girls who are not regular starters and I feel good about being prepared for the tournament on Saturday.

As a reminded, we will start on Field 5 at Affton Athletic Association, and I’d like all the girls to be ready to warm up by 7:20. Based on the weather forecast, I don’t expect we’ll have any trouble playing the tournament, but from experience I can tell you it will be chilly when we start. Wearing the long-sleeve shirt under the uniform will be helpful, as will gloves (not softball gloves, although those are essential). It may not feel that bad walking out the door at 7 a.m., but it will standing around a little later. If we get some sunshine, things should be pleasant – about the time the tournament is over, say 12:30 or so.