A group of six-year-olds scatters across the softball field, some chasing ground balls and others watching the game with wide eyes. Near the dugout, two young coaches, Sophomore Amanda Harrison and Senior Kay Nevarez, call out encouragement, reminding the players where to throw the ball, what to do and cheering every time someone makes a good play. For the coaches, the season is about more than just wins and losses but also inspiring the next generation of the game.
In the middle of one of the first games of the season, Harrison began to pitch to the kids, but in practices and games before they have hit off of a tee. This was the very first time they had even practiced coach pitch.
“That was the first time I introduced them to coach pitch. They’ve been hitting off the tee before that. And a lot of them actually hit the ball really well for their first time doing that,” Harrison said.
Managing an entire team of six-year-olds can be tough to do alone, but with the help of assistant coaches and willing family members, the young players can learn and improve much faster.
“I often do stations at practice, and I can’t manage all of them at once, so I’ll split everybody up into four groups. My dad will do one station, Kay will do another station and I will also lead one. It’s just really nice to split a group up so they can learn multiple things at a time and so that I don’t have to focus on all that just by myself,” Harrison said.
Being a new coach to a team this young could bring many surprises, but the one that surprised Harrison the most was the fact that many players on the team already knew a good amount about the game.
“A big surprise is how much they already knew because I think a lot of them have siblings to play with, and they often help out or watch. It was also really nice not having to teach them even more than I already am,” Harrison said.
Harrison elaborated on how she focuses more on having fun during the practices and games, as sports can become competitive, but at this age, she finds that it is all about having fun and learning more about the game.
“I hope they focus on just having fun because they’re still six. I want them to enjoy playing. I don’t want them to dread practice. I want them to look forward to coming. So I really hope that they don’t become too hard on themselves. I want them to take away that this is a learning experience,” Harrison said.
While coaching a team so young can be fun, according to Nevarez, it also comes with its fair share of tough challenges.
“The hardest challenge is them not listening. Sometimes we will be explaining the next drill or step in practice, and they won’t listen. They’ll go and try to do one thing and the rest of the team is doing something else, so we have to help them with what they’re supposed to do. And it kind of makes us mad, but obviously they’re 6 years old, so there’s not much to get mad at them for,” Nevarez said.
Despite the challenges, the coaches say watching the players grow and improve throughout the season makes all the effort worth it. According to Harrison, at the beginning of the season, many of the girls were still learning basic rules and positions, but over time, they began to understand the game better and gain more confidence on the field.
“It makes me so happy. A lot of them didn’t even know what first base was when we started, but seeing them learn and improve throughout the season is really great,” Harrison said.
Nevarez wrapped it up by talking about what she hopes the girls get out of the season and how softball can be a tough hobby but can be a really fun one as well.
“Hopefully by the end of the season ,they learn how the game works and understand it more,” Nevarez said. “Softball can be a complicated and difficult sport, but once they start getting the hang of it, I think they will have lots of fun.”
