The high school junior varsity (JV) softball team had a very successful season this year. The members of the JV team were not just from the high school, but there were also four middle school members. From countless running drills, to giving it their all in the games, the team has bonded and created a memorable season.
The JV team met on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, whereas the Middle School sports teams normally met two days a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Every practice, coaches Julia Harrison worked with every player very hard, pushing them to do their best and give it their all. Eighth grader Caroline Vauclain said, “In practice we would warm up and stretch, and sometimes do batting practice, or situations in infield and outfield.” The team worked hard to improve individually, but also improve their teamwork to make the best out of the games they played.
Not only did the team improve very well, but the team also bonded. Vauclain also stated, “…The team bonded a lot since the beginning of the season. We had several days where we all met, had dinner and hung out which was fun.” The team dinners helped the team become closer, off the field and on the field. It was a way to form new relationships, especially since some players on the team were from the eighth grade, and the rest from the high school – it wasn’t all that normal to hang out together. “…I didn’t really anticipate that the high schoolers would be as nice as they were to us,” Vauclain said. The high schoolers helped welcome the eighth graders into the team, despite the age gap. The JV team had great success in their games. Eighth grade student Madeline Bataille stated, “I think that we were a very successful team because we scored a lot of runs which was achieved by our great hitting.” During practices, batting was one of the components the Harrison and Jokinen worked the players hard to improve upon, as it was so crucial to master for the games. In addition to this, Bataille also stated, “I think that the 8th graders contributed certain skills to the team that nobody else had which made our team more well-rounded with different people possessing unique talents…” This quote shows how each person had a certain skill they could give to the team to make the team more strong. Lastly, since the eighth graders had moved up to the high school team, there was some thoughts as to if the high schoolers would be welcoming…there was nothing to worry about! Similarly to Vauclain’s perspective, Bataille stated, “It was a really cool experience because at first I thought that the high schoolers would be really intimidating but they were actually really nice and great role models/leaders.” Overall, the JV softball team had a very strong and great season. They bonded and improved significantly to bring their all to the games they played.
