14 Softball season swings into play sports
Panther Prowler • March 7, 2022
Ava Prapaniku Staff Writer
Josie Gardner Staff Writer
The spring season for NPHS girls’ softball swung into play at a home game against Oak Park High School on Feb. 16. Bryan Matney, the varsity coach, and Mark Gralmick, the JV coach, worked with their teams to prepare for the spring season. Gralmick said he is excited to get out onto the dirt and watch the girls improve as players and as people. “My goal as a coach is to not just make them better players but to hopefully help them become more aware of what they’re capable of,” Gralmick said. At the start of each game, different emotions come to the players and this season has special importance to the upperclassmen players who used to play with the late Coach Dagan. For Kaitlyn Larson, senior on the varsity team, her adrenaline rises as she warms up and cheers on the rest of her team. “For a lot of us seniors there’s a lot of meaning that goes into [the games]. With coach Dagan’s passing earlier this school year, it puts a lot more meaning into the games, especially home games, they’re very powerful for us,” Larson said. This is Lauren Calverley’s first year playing softball for NPHS. She is a freshman on the frosh-soph team and was welcomed into her first season by an unexpected hail storm. “We’ve already had two games and we won one but one got canceled,” Calverly said. “The hail hurt a lot, it was really cold but when it started actually hailing, we just called it off.” High school teams allow players to gain life long friendships with teammates and become closer. “I think these friendships are going to grow with me as I get older and I’m going to have them for the rest of my life and have this support system that I know I can turn to,” Larson said. “These are friends that I know I want to be with on and off the field and that’s something that I very much value.” Softball is more than just a sport for many of the players and coaches integrate their own principles into the game. “There’s a lot of life lessons to be learned from softball. I just hope that the girls are having fun and accomplishing what they set out Swoosh!- Paige Henry, senior, initiated the game by pitching the ball. but the team came up short, losing the game on Feb. 28. “This to accomplish,” Gralmick said. “Everything looks on target; I think this is gonna be season I look forward to winning more games [but] I can see us having a little bit of a rocky start since we have a lot of unknowns an exciting season and we have an opportunity to do some really good things.” leading up to this season but everythings finally coming together,” Larson said. Emerson Fuentes-Alabanza/Prowler
Boys’ volleyball serves into the court Taylor Gibson Staff Writer
Spike!- In a home game, Houston Hull, number 15, plays against Santa Barbara, and his favorite part about playing volleyball is, “Probably the level that everyone is at is pretty high so it’s so fun to be able to have good rallies and stuff like that,” said Hull. Parker Bohl/Prowler
With spring season starting up, the NPHS boys’ volleyball team is eager to begin playing and winning games and putting their hard work and determination to use. Tyson Grimes, junior, plays as an outside hitter on the junior varsity team. JV players are working hard and confident in their ability to succeed this season. “We have pretty high goals. We have quite a few older guys so we are hoping to be able to win league and go as far as we can,” Grimes said. In preparation for games, the players have been putting in effort during practices and working on mental stamina on the court. “New season means new people on each team and it’s important to make sure everyone is comfortable with everyone else’s playing style,” Grimes said. “A lot of volleyball is mental so you kind of just have to take it one play at a time and reset after each point to make sure you don’t get in your own head.” Houston Hull, sophomore, plays for varsity as a middle blocker. Hull puts in a great deal of effort with his team to ensure best possible performance. “All of us work our hardest which helps us prepare for the best teams,” Hull said. “Usually I try to just think about the people I’m playing against and I think about their weaknesses and their tendencies.” While players are confident in their abilities, Hull recognizes room for improvement among the varsity team. “I think just our communication and work ethic is something everyone on the team should work on,” Hull said. Arthur McGregor, sophomore, is a libero on the junior varsity team. During practices, there is a lot to think about to be able to best benefit the team. “Focusing on my job and my position and what I need to do in order to let my teammates be able to do their jobs,” McGregor said. “A good part of volleyball is learning how to work together when a rally gets bad and that connection just takes time playing together.” McGregor has high hopes for this season, and is confident in his team’s ability to succeed. “We have a pretty strong team this year and I think it is within our skill set to go undefeated. I think we all work hard when we need to, but also love to mess around and have fun,” McGregor said. Prior to joining the team, McGregor had to think about lots of different aspects to ensure he had a good experience, “Well we have a really great program and a really good coaching staff, and it’s a really good team environment, you get a lot of friends and it makes you feel like you’re in a good group of guys,” McGregor said. Grimes enjoys many parts of volleyball, but especially loves the energy on the court. “It’s a pretty unique sport because there aren’t many team sports where you get to go back and forth on offense and defense so quickly which makes it really fun. There’s also a type of excitement after a big play that is really awesome,” Grimes said.
