by Jake Pastrana

There is a lot to consider when trying out for a sport, especially if it is softball. Whether it is being physically prepared, mentally prepared,  keeping emotions in line or if the weather is good enough.

“We have open gym for about two months to get us back into the softball mood. We have to be physically ready through conditioning and other exercise,”  said junior Saydie Priest, who made the team for the first time this year. “We scrimmage, do situations and do other small drills,” added Junior Leilani Moon, who also made the team again this year.There is also a lof of mental preparations to consider.

“You have to mentally prepare yourself, tell yourself you will work as hard as you can and not let anything discourage you. Tell yourself that even if things don’t go your way you will still do your very best,” said Moon, who made the team again this year. “We have to be there mentally… Softball requires a lot of thinking and we have to train in our minds to think before tryouts so we know what to do,” agreed Priest. Preparing for softball, however, isn’t just a physical and mental game, but an emotional one too.

“You just feel like screaming and running around at the same time. During tryouts everyone feels pretty tense and scared. It’s hard to relax,” Moon said. “The emotions are very high. We all feel extremely nervous, excited, and scared out of our minds from the weeks leading up to the tryouts until the final cut. One little mistake seems like the end of your softball career during tryouts. If emotions weren’t high, the intensity wouldn’t be either, so it is important to have strong feelings,” said Priest in agreement. The last thing to consider before actually making the team is how the weather is during the tryouts.

“If there is snow or rain then we have to try out inside ‘cause our field will get covered,” Moon said. “During tryouts we were unable to go outside and play on an actual dirt field. We still can’t play outside due to the snow,” said Priest. And finally,the results of this hard work.

“This year we had first cuts which were on Tuesday and final cuts were on Thursday. Mylei (Coach Zachman) posts a list on the south end doors and we all run to it and quickly check the list! It’s kind of super exciting,” Priest said.