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Cook county High School fastpitch softball players are practicing hard for the upcoming season. The High School gym was alive with the sounds of softballs slapping hard into the fold of leather gloves as the girls played catch and worked on a variety of drills this past week. There was the ping of hard-hit balls coming off of metal bats from the hitting cage and runners sliding headfirst into mats on the floor.
Vikings Co-Head Coaches Hayley Scott and Ann Schultz welcomed 18 girls out to practice, but more kids are on the way, with some sixth graders slated to join the team, said Schultz.
Scott said this year’s squad is relatively young, with just a few returning varsity players from last year. Coming back are Katie Peck, Kallie Anderson, Amber Theiner, Amery Oberg, Greta Youngdahl and Hattie Croutteau.
There won’t be any captains on this team, said Scott. Instead, all of the girls will take a leadership role.
When asked about positions, Schultz said her team would be taught to play infield and outfield. “We’re not pigeonholing anyone,” Scott said.
A big emphasis this year will be on building skills. For example, when hitting a ball, kids were taught to shift their weight from their back to their front foot. Some were learning the correct way to slide into a base without getting injured. And others were learning to catch, step on a bag and make a throw home.
“We want the girls to have fun playing together, to learn about fastpitch softball, and love the game,” said Scott.
The Vikings’ first game of the season is on April 6. In fact, Scott said the first five or six games would be home games. Let’s hope the snow stops falling, and the field dries so we can watch our Vikings play. For now, they are getting into the swing of things, pun intended.
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