Kara Brooks gets ready with her teammates. Photo courtesy of Anna Dishman, Watauga Yearbook.
The Watauga Softball Team is experiencing a multitude of successes in its 2023 spring season despite its frequent losses in previous years. The team currently holds a record of 6-6, already achieving a higher number of wins than their record last year of 4-19. The team’s hard work and vigorous preparation for the season make their successful record no surprise. Both coaches and players have put in large amounts of time and effort that have paid off based on their recent wins.
Head Coach April Yandle and the team’s assistant coaches must use intentional coaching tactics to ensure that the team will perform to the best of their ability. Coach Ben Maggard discussed how their practices and pre-season activities are crucial to performing well.
“Our Head Coach April Yandle, myself, and the other assistant coaches, Brittany Maggard and Ashlyn Castle, have worked really hard to be more consistent and intentional with our fall/winter workouts, and our practice plans during the season to help our players build on their skills to perform to the best of their abilities,” Maggard said. “Softball is a team sport and it starts with the coaching staff being unified and working together as a team to ensure we are all on the same page to provide our athletes with the best possible coaching.”
Preparing for the spring season starts during the off-season in the team’s fall and winter workouts. Creating a more prominent culture in the sport is found in the determination of both the players and coaches. Paving the way for determination during the off-season sets the team up for hard work and a winning mindset.
“I believe the success of this season is attributed to the hard work our players have put in during the off-season with fall/winter skills workouts. A bunch of our players have signed up for weightlifting and I believe that has helped them get stronger, faster, and more agile,” Maggard said. “A large portion of our team also play travel ball in the summer and fall months and that helps them get more experience and build on those skills as well. Overall, I think there is more determination to succeed and that is clear by the amount of buy-in that we have for our team and program culture.”
Participating in travel softball is another factor during the off-season that has aided in player preparations for the school season. Team member Kara Brooks, junior, stated how her participation in a travel team helped her grow her skills and agility outside of the Watauga season.
“I practice almost every day at out of school practice and I play for a travel team," Brooks said. "Many of the other girls do the same. This has helped us all to grow out of the season so we can come back and not need as much instruction."
Teamwork and intentionality are substantial parts of a successful team. Creating a working team environment and incorporating the different skills of all players on the team has been crucial in increasing wins for Watauga Softball this season. Brooks and her teammate Elizabeth Watson, sophomore, agree that having a team-based mindset has been critical in benefitting their overall performance.
“The only thing that it can be attributed to is the amount of work the players have put in and how we work together. We have a good skills-based team this year, and we all play for each other and not for ourselves,” Brooks said.
Many of the players enhance their own skills in order to benefit the whole team.
“To prepare for our games I have been able to work in the days leading up to the games on the things that would most help me and my performance for the team,” said Watson. “I usually do a couple of hitting drills focusing on being intentional with what I am doing and I try my best to apply that in future games.”
The team is looking forward to the rest of their season with hopes of finishing with a winning record. Compared to previous seasons, the current record has far surpassed the expectations of much of the community.
“This year we are over the halfway point in our season and we are 6-6 with a very good chance to finish the season with a winning record,” said Maggard.
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