 "Photo: David Kloeckener")
March 2 served as the beginning of the games for the STLCC-Meramec women’s softball team.
This year, the Magic has a new coach, new players and an optimistic attitude regarding the season ahead.
The team won its first game 1-0 against Lindenwood in extra innings. Now they have a record of 5-13.
The team consists of 11 new players, and one returning player, Tiffany Stock. They are led by a new coach, Kim McCall.
This is her first season with the team after graduating from Lynchburg College in Maryland, where she was the graduate assistant softball coach for two years.
McCall said that her favorite part of softball is the fact that it revolves around the female athlete and that she enjoys coaching for more than one reason.
“[My favorite parts] are helping them, watching them grow, seeing them learn about themselves, and having fun,” McCall said.
As a relatively new team, McCall said that in order to prepare for each season, they set team goals.
“We make goals and then we reassess them at different stages of the season. We practice and work hard and learn from ourselves,” McCall said.
Meramec student and player for 14 years, Jamie Aldrich, said this year’s goal is to play better than expected.
“No one expects us to do well since we are such a small team. Our goal is to exceed expectations,” Aldrich said.
Tiffany Theobald, transfer student from Texas, said what she is looking most forward to this season is using the fact that they are a small team of 12 to their advantage.
“Since we are a small team, we can focus on that to play well. I’m looking forward to doing our best and winning more games,” Theobald said.
But the common theme of what the team is looking forward to the most is having fun.
"We are a tight group of girls. We look forward to having fun,” Aldrich said.
McCall said what’s most important for the team’s success is to discover each girl’s strengths.
“[We] learn from each practice and game and proceed in a forward direction,” McCall said.
The women’s softball team has their next game on Friday, April 2 in the Indian Hills tournament in Ottumwa, Iowa.
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