The varsity softball team has had a rough start to their season this year, junior first and third base player Chloe Cabrera said. They currently have a record of 2-7 according to Maxpreps.com as of April 1. The team has struggled to score points in games but is slowly getting better, she said.
The team lost a lot of graduating players from last season and having to get used to playing with one another contributed to the team’s rough start, Cabrera said. The team is now focusing on learning to work together, especially now that softball head coach Deana Querubin has returned to coaching, she added.
“Most people were on the team last year, but Coach D (Querubin), she didn’t coach last year,” Cabrera said. “She only coached two years ago. So there are a lot of people that haven’t played for her before that are playing for her now. So they’re new for Coach D.”
Senior catcher Destiny Solis believes that
A lot of the players on the team have never worked with her before, Querubin said. She took a year off to adjust to becoming activities director, Querubin explained. Right now she is focused on setting a standard for the girls to meet and establishing a routine with them, she said.
“So basically, reteaching the system that we had and making sure the system that we have in the softball program is clear so that we can keep replicating it, even for next year, because next year we’re going to have another big graduating class,” Querubin said. “We need to make sure that the system and how we do things is in place, so that when they leave, then this new group that’s going to come in, the returners can teach them.”
Querubin’s coaching style is much more competitive and is a drastic change compared to last season’s coaching, Solis said.
“Last year we didn’t have a coach, really,” Solis said. “It was like the girls coaching, not an adult stepping up.”
Typically, practices are split up into two parts, Querubin said. The first half of practice is routine training followed by focusing on different weak areas, she said.
“In the softball-baseball world, the fundamentals are very – I wouldn’t even say it’s easy, but it’s simple,” Querubin said. “You need to work on those fundamental things, and then if you perfect the fundamentals, the other stuff comes easier.”
The softball team has two new freshmen pitchers who are replacing a pitcher who graduated last year, Querubin said. Giving such a big role to freshmen puts a lot of pressure on them, she added.
“So it’s building them – and even our young players, everyone that’s brand new to the program – we have to build their belief in each other, and then also the belief in themselves,” Querubin said. “Because sometimes, they don’t see it, but we see it, and so we have to keep pouring belief into them so that they can see it in themselves.”
The coaches are encouraging the players to focus less on the point totals shown on the scoreboard and more on how their performance and skills are improving in order to keep themselves and the team motivated, Querubin said.
“But it’s like, no, we are winning because they’re getting better, and then maybe in league, we’re going to be able to get those wins where we’re going to work hard and might not expect to win that game, but because we’ve been working hard already, then we might be able to squeeze it,” she said.
Cabrera recommends taking things one day at a time to stay motivated, she said. It’s important to keep trying your best in order to succeed, she said.
“It definitely gets tiring, failing a lot and stuff like that,” Cabrera said. “But especially for softball, it’s such a big game of failure. In order to be good, you have to fail 70% of the time. So it’s just really training yourself mentally and making sure that you can recover after failing (and) bouncing back.”
Senior catcher Destiny Solis believes that despite the lack of wins, the softball team has been getting stronger and is bonding more, she said.
“We want to win,” Solis said. “We want to try to win and be competitive. Everyone wants to get better. So that’s what motivates us. And we get to see each other every day and joke around. I’d say on the softball field, we’re a family.”
Solis is confident that the team will be able to succeed next season, she said. The team has strong players and will keep building up from what they have now, she added.
“Our team is very hard-working, and we know not to give up,” Solis said. “We’ve gone through so many hard games where we did just want to give up, but we come to practice the next day knowing we can’t give up because we have to make our goals.”