Cutting a team, not the players

The cause of lower tryout numbers for the softball team and the impact that has on the season

Avery Roe roeave000@hsestudents.org

This season, the softball team is organizing only two teams instead of their typical three. The program will consist of only varsity and JV. In previous years, the program also consisted of a C team. The three teams only vary in skill level.

Freshman player Hadley Crock has played softball for 7 years. Despite not having an experience to compare it to, Crock believes that there would be benefits to having a C team.

“There weren't enough girls, that's why there wasn't a third team,” Crock said.

Sophomore player Hailey Kinder is on the team for her second year. Kinder finds benefits in having all three teams.

“With a C team, we are able to better the program and develop more players,” Kinder said.

Abby Gavin is one of four seniors on the team. Gavin has been playing for FHS since her sophomore year due to the fact the freshman season was canceled because of COVID. Gavin estimated that tryout numbers usually average 40 players. This year there were 29 at tryouts. That means there is a split of 14 on varsity and 15 on JV.

“For varsity, our team is basically staying the same,” Gavin said. “For JV, the lower numbers did affect them because the girls that might have been on the C team are now on JV.”

Decreasing the number of teams in the program shifts the roles of coaches. The coaches who would’ve been working with the C team are finding new positions with varsity and JV.

“There are three coaches on each team,” Crock said.

A lower turnout for the program does not directly impact the play of the current season. However, this does mean that those players who would’ve had a year on the C team to build skill, are now playing for JV in their first year.

“There are a lot of underclassmen getting playing time which is not normal,” Kinder said.

The decline in the number of girls trying out began last year. There were no girls cut from the team last season in order to make all three teams. Gavin relates the further decrease in numbers to a lack of returners.

“For a lot of people, last year was their last season,” Gavin said. “They found other things they wanted to be doing or they didn’t think that softball was their thing.”