DUGOUT WRAP-UP Volume 2 Issue 2 We are excited about the Middle School 2012 season that we have had the opportunity to report on. We are just as excited about the upcoming High School season. Get excited more news to come! Looking ahead -High School Pre-Season Conditioning will begin in the middle of November! -Middle School players are welcome and encouraged to come. Dates and Times: TBA Dear High School Season, Watch out HERE WE COME! Love, MHS Softball **We are 10 wins shy of winning our 500 th game in school history at the High School**
Blast From the Past (Quotes from past players for girls to come) Manteno Middle School A- Team had a wonderful seasoning finishing with a record of 14-8. Post season play had them pushing themselves above and beyond. They took a Regional Championship beating BUGC. This is the 5 th championship in 6 years for the Panthers. Unfortunately they lost to Beecher in the Sectional Championship. We are proud of the season they had and the efforts they put into getting better. "My advice for any younger softball players would be to always work hard to become better each day. It doesn t matter where you are from or what others tell you; you can do whatever you set your mind to. And most importantly love stepping between those lines each day." Haylee Beck 12
A note from the coach s corner BLURBS FROM COACHES - This season was a tale of two teams. To start the season we were a team full of nice girls that played hard and by the end of the season we had girls that were still nice, however they played with a much deeper sense of passion and determination. One perfect example was the regional championship against Bourbonnais. We had lost to BUGC by ten run rule early in the season and were down early 4-0 in the regional championship. The girls had worked so hard during the last month of practice that they didn t know how to quit, they didn t know how to let down. We kept playing Manteno softball and found a way to mount a comeback. Our season is full of stories of triumph after defeat and that is what I am most proud of, a team full of girls that don t know how to quit even if they are still really nice. - Sarge - I am proud of each and every one of you! You are the future of this program and you continue the success that we have had! Coach Kauchak - It was great to see the girls grow as individuals and as a team! Big difference from the beginning of the year to how we ended it. I am proud to have helped them progress as athletes and as people. Coach Heimenz - It was a great season filled with hard work and lots of talent! These girls did an amazing job of trying new positions they had never played before and working together as a team. Coach Hauser - The girls I worked with this year were amazing! I never met a group who I had so much fun with! They listened to every word I and the rest of the coaches said and would fix it right away. They knew we were only trying to make them better! I wish the best for them in years to come. Coach Kaack - I enjoyed every second of coaching these girls. Every day the girls were there working hard and improving. We had a great season with many laughs and hard work. I can t wait to coach them again sometime. Coach Rolniak - Great Season! Keep working hard Coach Mazur
This means WAR! Post Season Awards B-Team Big Stick Delaney McDermott Golden Arm Mia Michaels Hustle Award Miriah Sumoski Reygan Carlile supports the team by wearing the same war paint as the Middle School players did during post season play. The girls had to work hard to earn their 3 stripes. When they had earned them their faces represented two M s for Manteno! THEN AND NOW Coach s Award Sierra Cureton Silent Leader Lexi Bowdish Team Award Ashley Mazur Did You Know? Softball was originally played as an indoor sport, devised to keep basketball players in shape in the off season.
A-Team Purple Heart Thank you to all of the parents and players who helped with field maintenance and the building of the fence. It is all greatly appreciated! Amber Daly Most Improved Caitlin Meyer & Cami Dotson H^3 Award Leah Selk Unsung Hero Becca Schaeffer Impact Player Kiley Zawizsa Coach s Quote Softball comes down to doing the same thing thousands of times until you don t have to think about it. This year the girls did a great job of repeating drills until they got it right. Sometimes to get what you want the most you have to do what you like the least. Congrats on a great season and way to represent Manteno Softball.