With five key starters of last year’s team graduating, pre-season injuries of multiple current players, and a total of 19 players—only four of which are upperclassmen—this season will look different for Lancer softball.
Head coach, Andy Walker, describes that with a majority of underclassmen, the two main focuses of the team this year will be “experience and consistency.” He explains, “At the varsity level, the speed of the game, decision making, and handling pressure are all things that typically come with time.”
Walker goes on to say that Waterford softball’s three seniors (Ava Waddington, Isabel Henry, and Audra Fiano) will play key roles in mentoring and guiding this young group of players.
A main focus for Walker to help prepare and strengthen this young group is “development and daily improvement.” There is a large emphasis on “…fundamentals, situational awareness, and building confidence through repetition” Walker says. Reps are crucial for athletes to become more confident and ultimately perform better.
Additionally, Walker creates an emphasis on the importance and impact that senior leadership will have on this team and “…helping establish our culture.” “We talk a lot about controlling what we can control: effort, attitude, and preparation,” Walker says, “and leadership will really be a shared responsibility across the team.”
While this years team is young, “This is a really exciting group because they’re eager, coachable, and not afraid to compete.” continues Walker. He describes a new balance of guidance and energy which radiates on the field. “You get to watch players grow in real time, and that’s one of the most rewarding parts of coaching. They’re starting to build their own identity, and the potential for growth throughout the season is huge.”
Lancer softball senior captain, Audra Fiano, says how with such a young team, this is a brand new team and dynamic for the upperclassmen. “The past few years we grew up playing with these girls and it stayed consistent throughout high school so we had a good camaraderie.” Fiano explains.
Now, the freshmen have all played together before and understand each other’s playing styles, strengths, and weaknesses, “But us upperclassmen have to adapt to that.” says Fiano.
Similarly to Fiano, senior captain Ava Waddington, believes that this year the overarching challenge of Lancer softball will be the new dynamic of the team. “It takes time to adapt to new people and learn their strengths and weaknesses but the more we practice the more comfortable we get with each other.” Waddington says.
This season, Waterford softball is going to work hard to become one cohesive unit.
As Walker stated before, senior leadership will have to run strong this season. Fiano plans to contribute to this by making sure “…everyone knows that being adaptable and coachable is important.”
She plans on working hard to teach the underclassmen that connection is important on the field. “If we can teach them to work and play with anyone, we will be able to win games. We are still learning each other’s playing style, but once we do, this team should be exciting.”
Two practices in, Fiano can already see how fun this year’s team will be. “I’ve already laughed more than I have in any other season,” says Fiano. Lancer softball takes pride in their energy and it is evident that this year, energy will not be a problem.
Waddington describes how creating an enjoyable and fun environment is important as a captain. She explains how “The Waterford softball program is such a great environment and if all the underclassmen feel like that then hopefully they will be willing to put in the effort to learn and adapt to a new team.”
While Waterford softball works extremely hard physically, it has always been a program to prioritize connection and energy as well.
Fiano also enjoys the leadership role that such a young team brings for her. She explains, “Having young girls is fun because you get to take them under your wing and show them how the team operates so they can be prepared to be a leader when it’s their time.”
The connections made on this team are going to continue to grow and strengthen. Since the team is so young, there are no pre-existing cliques making it even easier to grow closer.
Waddington says, “So far the practices have been really good, and I can already tell that we’re all going to become really close. This upcoming season is going to be like a new start and I’m excited to see how we will all eventually work together.”
While such a young team can bring some new challenges to overcome, coaches and seniors have never been more excited to continue Waterford Lancer softball’s strong legacy with them.
