Softball: Times are a’changing
This year’s snow and rain are not the only changes in scenery that the White Station High School softball team has seen.
In the past four years, the team has had three different coaches. From 2011 to 2013, Roland Williams coached the softball team. Carly Billings, who played college softball, came in next with the spirit to rebuild the program. Early this school year, Kemme Browne stepped to the plate to be the head coach, for the 2015 Spartans.
Originally, Browne was set to be the assistant coach to Billings for this year’s season. However, Billings announced that she would not continue to be head coach in the upcoming year because her husband got a football coaching job at the University of Iowa.
“A lot of people were disappointed at first because we loved Coach Billings like a big sister, but we’re ready and open to the change” Sofia Murtaugh (10) said. “It’s been getting better since we’ve been getting to know [Coach Browne].”
As returning player Audrey Garrett (10) reflects, the team “hasn’t had much game experience” this year because the weather has postponed the first scrimmages.
The recent rain has also translated into limited on-field practice.
“The weather has not been in our favor,” four-year player Courtney Chick (12) said. “We haven’t been able to get out on the field in a while and that’s really frustrating.”
And they’re not alone.
“Obviously every other team in Memphis is on the same boat, but I think our indoor practices are efficient. And I think we’ll have a good season as we always do,” Chick said.
Even with the changes that they have gone through, the softball team is a group bound by trust and support. Most on the team are returning players with a few new freshman faces.
“You can just tell we’ve been together for a while,” Chick said. “The chemistry is really good, and we play really well together.”
Despite the setbacks, the girls can overcome any obstacle as a team.
“I believe in my team,” Mallory Ivey (11) said. “It’s going to be a good year; it’s going be different, but it’s going to be good.”
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