MN95
02-05-2009, 08:18 PM
Expectations are high:
Softball team could be best in school history
BY ANDREW MAY, Staff Writer
(Created: Thursday, February 5, 2009 6:25 PM CST)
| Text Size | Print Version | E-mail This Story
Does winning promote chemistry or does creating chemistry foster winning?
It is a question Celina softball coach Billy Coleman will soon find out as the 2009 season gets under way today with a scrimmage against Plano West. It is perhaps one of the only issues the loaded Lady Cats will have to face this season.
Coleman offered a tasty glimpse of how special the upcoming season can be for Celina. He said the team has the potential to be the best he has coached in his time in the Lady Cat dugout. Better than the Sarah McCloud-led squad that reached the state tournament in 2006. Better than the team that lost to West in the 2007 regional finals. And better than the one that made its third consecutive regional tournament appearance last season.
“Probably on paper we’re just as good as those teams,” Coleman said, “but you never know how it jells.”
Therein lies the major hurdle the 2009 Lady Cats will have to overcome. Coleman called this year’s bunch the deepest he has ever fielded at Celina. At virtually every position there are at least two players vying for the starting spot. In some instances it will only help push the returning players to perform at the highest possible level n safe to say reigning district MVP Joey Cronin, reigning Catcher of the Year Jasmine San Miguel and reigning Offensive Player of the Year Brittanie Knowles have plenty of job security. In other cases Coleman will use the scrimmages and possibly some non-district games to figure out who is the best fit.
Thirteen freshmen could vie for playing time immediately. Depending on how everything shapes up, the jelling process may take awhile. No matter how much talent any one team puts on the field, chemistry and cohesion are always important.
“We’ll just have to see how it all plays out and how they jell,” Coleman said. “You just never know year to year how it’s all going to work out. It’s going to be exciting.”
In the circle for instance, reigning first-team all-district pitcher Kassidy Holmes may be supplanted by senior Kylie Roos, who pitched in both the regional and state tournament prior to arriving at Celina this year. Up-and-coming freshman Katelyn Drummond could also factor in the mix. It is the same scenario at plenty of other positions.
“There is a lot of competition,” Coleman said. “All of them are going to get there opportunity to prove what they can do. It’s definitely going to make for an exciting, interesting season without a doubt.”
Coleman doesn’t expect experience to be an issue. Not a single player graduated from last season’s regional quarterfinal team and the Lady Cats have four seniors to provide veteran leadership. What the underclassmen lack in varsity knowledge, they make up for with an abundance of select experience.
Just how far Celina can advance this year after winning at least a share of the district title the past two seasons will hinge more on chemistry than talent. With a coach that always finds a way to get the most out of his players and get them to peak at the right time, that’s a scary proposition for every opponent standing in the way.
Softball team could be best in school history
BY ANDREW MAY, Staff Writer
(Created: Thursday, February 5, 2009 6:25 PM CST)
| Text Size | Print Version | E-mail This Story
Does winning promote chemistry or does creating chemistry foster winning?
It is a question Celina softball coach Billy Coleman will soon find out as the 2009 season gets under way today with a scrimmage against Plano West. It is perhaps one of the only issues the loaded Lady Cats will have to face this season.
Coleman offered a tasty glimpse of how special the upcoming season can be for Celina. He said the team has the potential to be the best he has coached in his time in the Lady Cat dugout. Better than the Sarah McCloud-led squad that reached the state tournament in 2006. Better than the team that lost to West in the 2007 regional finals. And better than the one that made its third consecutive regional tournament appearance last season.
“Probably on paper we’re just as good as those teams,” Coleman said, “but you never know how it jells.”
Therein lies the major hurdle the 2009 Lady Cats will have to overcome. Coleman called this year’s bunch the deepest he has ever fielded at Celina. At virtually every position there are at least two players vying for the starting spot. In some instances it will only help push the returning players to perform at the highest possible level n safe to say reigning district MVP Joey Cronin, reigning Catcher of the Year Jasmine San Miguel and reigning Offensive Player of the Year Brittanie Knowles have plenty of job security. In other cases Coleman will use the scrimmages and possibly some non-district games to figure out who is the best fit.
Thirteen freshmen could vie for playing time immediately. Depending on how everything shapes up, the jelling process may take awhile. No matter how much talent any one team puts on the field, chemistry and cohesion are always important.
“We’ll just have to see how it all plays out and how they jell,” Coleman said. “You just never know year to year how it’s all going to work out. It’s going to be exciting.”
In the circle for instance, reigning first-team all-district pitcher Kassidy Holmes may be supplanted by senior Kylie Roos, who pitched in both the regional and state tournament prior to arriving at Celina this year. Up-and-coming freshman Katelyn Drummond could also factor in the mix. It is the same scenario at plenty of other positions.
“There is a lot of competition,” Coleman said. “All of them are going to get there opportunity to prove what they can do. It’s definitely going to make for an exciting, interesting season without a doubt.”
Coleman doesn’t expect experience to be an issue. Not a single player graduated from last season’s regional quarterfinal team and the Lady Cats have four seniors to provide veteran leadership. What the underclassmen lack in varsity knowledge, they make up for with an abundance of select experience.
Just how far Celina can advance this year after winning at least a share of the district title the past two seasons will hinge more on chemistry than talent. With a coach that always finds a way to get the most out of his players and get them to peak at the right time, that’s a scary proposition for every opponent standing in the way.