Big Steps Forward, Ignore the Score. Eureka 12, Webster 1

We have already lost as many games this season as we did each of the last two. But the coaching staff is much happier this evening, following our 12-1 loss to an excellent Eureka team. With all due respect to the excellent Oakville team we saw yesterday, I’d bet that this Eureka team would beat them most of the time. The Wildcats probably could have made the score even more lopsided, but demonstrated the class consistent with their reputation and refused to take advantage of an outgunned opponent. (No implied criticism of Oakville, btw; I respect their coaching staff, as well.)

But the Statesmen worked hard and I’m certain learned from this experience, lessons that will serve us well as we grow throughout the season. Softball is a game of inches, and I can think of four balls that, given an inch or three, could have easily ended up in gloves.

Whatever the girls said in the Players Only meeting after yesterday’s game clearly had impact, and I truly respect the leadership that is growing in their roles, as well. This is a long season, one that has just started, and if we continue to progress in skill and approach, I think all of us will look back on the season as a success.

Olivia Leaver showed tremendous mental toughness in the circle, not walking a batter and battling back from some 3-ball counts. Neither errors nor rockets seemed to phase her and she kept her composure throughout. Nic Rikand’s stiff shoulder kept O in the circle a little longer than we would have preferred, but she soldiered on. Freshman Morgan Lawrence flashed leather on the left side at both short and third and Emmy Gary was a rock at 1^st. Maddie Keefer notched our first “caught stealing” and girls worked and cheered hard throughout the game.

Progress often comes in small steps and can’t always be measured by statistics. The losses might look similar on the scoreboard, but the girls unanimously agreed that today’s game was lots more fun.

Doing a little “catch-up,” we have instituted a (purely subjective) “Player of the Game” Award, a stretchy bracelet given to each game’s “winner.” (All our girls are winners.) Morgan Lawrence inaugurated the award for her game against Lindbergh; Nic Rikand took the honors after the Oakville game, and Taylor (Friday) Graning is the current bearer. Hope to see you at tomorrow’s 12:30 (or thereabouts – we follow the varsity, so the time must remain flexible, maybe earlier, maybe [but I hope not, for personal reasons] later) contest against Poplar Bluff, where you can play along trying to predict who will wear the award until our next game (players can earn the honor more than once). 

"Speed Racer" Boyle gets ready to work her slap/bunt magic, drew two walks, stole two bases.

Olivia Leaver pitched a complete game for the Statesmen; Morgan Lawrence, busy in the field, gets ready for a play.

Catcher Maddie Keefer took two good ABs, drew a walk and (via courtesy runner Jilly Sanders) scored the lone run.

CF Ally Marshall continues to develop as a slap hitter, getting one hit and driving in the lone Statesmen run.

Freshman Bailey Allen brings a lot of energy to her play, subbing in at 2B due to an injury.

Taylor Graning will play multiple positions this year because of her good glove. Today she was in right.

When not behind the plate, Marko mans the OF, and makes a catch in left in the second inning.

Nicola Rikand manned the shortstop position today; she'll also pitch and play OF.

Sophomore Ally Marshall gets ready to return the ball after making a catch in CF.

2017 Season Recap

We set records in 2016, including most wins (16, despite getting rained out of a tournament and another game) and winning percentage. It was a natural follow-up when people complimented that team, “You had a good year. What does next year look like?” Having seen what was in the pipeline through the feeder league and elsewhere, I brashly said, violating a long-standing rule of never predicting the results of any JV game, much less season, “I think we’re going to be even better.” Then I started to worry that maybe last year’s record just might be harder to eclipse than I thought. But apparently this was the year for total eclipses.

If you’re a coach, you worry. At the risk of sounding like a commercial for an insurance company with an amphibian spokesperson, it’s what you do. Those worries, as it turned out, were needless. It took us only 12 more innings to play 4 more games and compile a 22-2 record; in 2016 we outscored the opposition by 100+ runs; this year the margin was 200+. We took home a second-place plaque in our inaugural entry in the Ft. Zumwalt South Tournament and successfully defended our 4^th straight Hancock Tournament trophy. Like last year, we extended more mercy to our opponents and required none in return.

All those stats, and more, are available below. (Double click to open for a larger view.) As usual, I have also included those of previous years for those who think that’s important. I’m a fan of the Impressionist School, but JV statistics offer little more than a fuzzy replication of the season because programs vary wildly from year to year. But what is clear is that the Webster program is successfully bringing in players every year that can help our varsity program successfully compete with other schools. It was my pleasure to have coached all six graduating seniors from our 2017 varsity squad – I’m proud of the athletes they are, but even prouder of the young women they have become who do such a magnificent job of representing their team, their school and their community.

This will look familiar to sophomore parents because (full disclosure) it’s mostly copied from last year’s season-ending entry. However, truth is truth, and the core values of Webster Softball do not really change.


We do, of course, set expectations for our program, but those expectations have nothing to do with wins, losses, or any other statistic. However, our goals are fairly consistent from year to year:

     1 – There should be a noticeable improvement in each girl’s game from the first practice in August to the last game in October.

     2 – There should be an obvious growth in team culture, and, although that may look different from year to year, a team bond and commitment to teammates must be part of that culture.

     3 – Our JV Statesmen should be, well, statesmen, maintaining a high level of sportsmanship and competitiveness that reflects positively on the district, the school, the team, and themselves. We want to be a respected and sought-after opponent.  

     4 – We should produce at least 5 varsity-ready players that Coach Gibson can think about as part of the mix for the 2018 season. 

     5 – Every player should be able to look back on the season as a worthwhile and enjoyable investment of her time and effort, and a minimum of 80% are looking forward and being committed to continuing in the program next season, including participation in the off-season activities and workouts.

I think I can safely speak for my invaluable assistant coaches, Tim Cerutti, Kate Wylie, and David Knapp, when I declare this season a success. We are lucky to have such a large and talented coaching team, from the contracted staff to the many volunteers. I respect and enjoy working with all of them

Parental involvement and support is something I NEVER take for granted, although, like every year, it’s been consistently outstanding. I started my coaching career at Hancock High School. By the fourth game of every Statesmen season, I have met and almost always have seen virtually every parent of every player at one game or another. I can tell you that by the end of any four year stretch at Hancock High School, I hadn’t met every parent with a senior in the program. The support and sportsmanship the parents modeled for their daughters is an integral part of our success. Thank you for that.

If I were smart, I’d bid adieu to coaching, because I don’t think it’s possible to top this season, not in terms of wins and losses, which, while nice, are not the be-all-end-all of JV coaching. The bond of this team, the love, the family-feelings, well, they’ll be difficult, if not impossible to replicate in future seasons. But the sophomores next year who experienced the joy of this season have the leadership and personal skills to create their own dynamic and one I anticipate enjoying in equal measure. I look forward to seeing that play out, because THAT is the true value of high school sports and I have truly appreciated sharing that with my girls.

Again, many thanks to all involved, coaches, parents, district administrators, but especially the girls themselves who never gave us less than their best, who never gave up on a teammate, for a fantastic season. Looking forward to another great year in 2018. Before that, there will be one more post about 2017 with some random observations about softball, coaching, and life in general. Because that’s what I do.

Working at Winning With Class: Webster 24, Parkway North 0

Still waiting for a true test. Parkway North might have been the weakest opponent yet, but our girls did a great job of “winning with class.” They kept their energy up despite the obvious mismatch (The Vikings recorded 6 outs against us, 3 of which came from “leaving early,” to which we called the umpire’s attention; a 4^th came from a bases loaded bunt). It was a challenge to even give outs without deliberately striking out, something I’d never ask a girl to do. In any case, our cumulative score for 4 games: 12.5 innings, 76-1.

Looking forward to a good practice tomorrow and more competitive games on Wednesday (away against Parkway Central) and Thursday (home against Kirkwood). The latter we fully expect to give us a true challenge. Parkway Central is kind of a “You never know.” It’s ranged from blowouts (our way) to a 3-2 loss just a few years ago. One thing we do know is that our girls will give a spirited performance and their best effort.

No practices on Friday or Monday, but we’ll work hard next Tuesday to get ready for Francis Howell Central (Wednesday) and Hazelwood West (Thursday), then another prep day (short but intense) getting ready for the challenging Fort Zumwalt Tournament. Every team member is guaranteed one start in every tournament. If your weekend schedule makes one game more accessible to parents and/or grandparents (I’m kind of sensitive to the grandparent thing, not that it has much chance of ever being an issue for me in an athletic competition), please let me know and I will try to accommodate. Also, I had more (good) pictures, but hotel internet is dreadfully slow. Check back tomorrow night to see if I was able to add some to this batch.

2016 Season in Review

This one always takes me a while to write. That is in part because I need time to decompress after the season. It would seem I internalize a lot of stress. My post-season massage never got to my legs because the entire hour was spent getting the knots out of my back, neck and shoulders. But it’s time to move the page views from the Cor Jesu game to something new.

Anyway, had you told me we would finish the season 16-4 with another trophy to display at the banquet, my only disappointment would have been not with the four games in which we were defeated but in the four games we lost (to weather and other things beyond our control).

Put it on a loop, because I say it at the beginning and end of every season: "JV Softball is like a box of chocolates...."  Sorry, could not pass it up, but suffice to say I make no predictions.


We do, of course, set expectations for our program, but those expectations have nothing to do with wins, losses, or any other statistic. However, our goals are fairly consistent from year to year:

     1 -  There should be a noticeable improvement in each girl's individual skill level as we compare the first practice in August to the last game in October.

     2 -  There should be an obvious growth in team culture, and, although that may look different from year to year, a team bond and commitment to teammates must be part of that culture.

     3 -  Our JV Statesmen should maintain a high level of sportsmanship and competitiveness that reflects positively on the school and the district. We want to be a respected and sought after opponent.

     4 -  We should produce at least 5 varsity-ready players that Coach Gibson can think about as part of the mix for the next season.

     5 -  Every player should be able to look back on the season as a worthwhile and enjoyable investment of her time, and at least 80% (dead minimum) should be looking forward and committed to continuing in the program next season, including participating in the off-season activities and workouts.


I think I can safely speak for my invaluable assistant coaches, Chris Fechtel and Kate Wylie, when I declare this season a success. We are lucky to have such a large and talented coaching staff, from the contracted staff to the many volunteers. I respect and enjoy working with all of them.

Parental involvement and support is never something I take for granted, although it's been consistently outstanding every year. But I started my coaching career at Hancock High School. By the fourth game of a Statesman season, I have met and almost always seen at a game virtually every parent of every player. I can tell you that by the end of any four year stretch at Hancock, I hadn't met every parent with a senior in the program. The support and sportsmanship the parents modeled for their daughters is an integral part of our success. Thank you for that.

The girls just voted today on their award winners, and to tell you the truth, I didn't even look at the ballots, mostly because I don't care who won what. We carried 16 girls, perhaps a few too many, but we carried 16 winners, 16 fine young women who represented their school, their team, their families, but most importantly, themselves with class. What a pleasure to work with them and watch them grow as players and people.


Softball is a stats-driven game, and I, having been raised with a scorecard in my hand, baseball cards next to my bed, and Strato-Matic players hidden away for midnight (and later) games with my brother, am a self-confessed numbers nerd. I don't post statistics during the season for a variety of reasons. First, I don't want to get into discussions about whether something was or was not a hit or an error, either at bat or afield. Second, I don't want to have discussions about who is playing when or where based on stats that may not reflect performance and/or ability. Finally, those parents who really want to keep track can do their own math based on the box scores, and I tried to keep those accurate and up to date.


As has become a tradition, below are the season totals. For comparison purposes, I am also including the stats from the seven previous years. For a better view, you can open/double click each year separately. I do want to give a shout out to our pitching staff (who, incidentally gave their own shout out to our three catchers and their improvement over the course of season): 26 walks in 20 games, a 3:1 KO to BB ratio. Combine that with a fielding percentage of over .900, and you have an explanation for our success. In short, we played good softball. 


    Again, many thanks to all involved, coaches, parents, district administration, but especially the girls who never gave us less than their best, for a great season. Looking forward to another great year in 2017.