Varsity softball’s first district varsity home game will be March 8 against San Marcos High School at 7 p.m. After practicing for months, the team feels ready for its upcoming season.

“We’ve prepared for the season by lifting, conditioning and practicing softball skills during the offseason,” shortstop varsity player senior Ava Ladd said. “Now we practice every night until 6, doing hitting or defensive drills or scrimmaging against ourselves or the JV team.”

Ava, who has played softball since she was 6 years old, has been the unofficial varsity softball captain since her sophomore year.

“Being an unofficial captain hasn’t changed how I’ve prepared physically, but mentally I knew I had to step into a bigger leadership role since we lost a lot of seniors last year,” Ava said. “I’ve become more comfortable being more vocal and helping the team when we need it.”

After eight seniors graduated last year, six new varsity players were added to the team. 

“They’re all very talented, and I can’t wait to see how much better they get over the course of the season, along with the returners,” Ava said. “I’m looking forward to winning lots of games and having a ton of fun, because this team has a great spirit and positive attitude that makes games super engaging.”

Along with a new team comes new expectations. 

“Our goal for this season is to make it to the playoffs,” Ava said. “We’ll have to be in the top four teams in District. I think this is a very attainable goal, as we have a lot of talent and the right work ethic to pull out a good number of wins.”

Head Softball Coach Haley Gaddis also looks forward to a successful season.

“It is extremely rewarding to be able to positively impact and affect the lives of young people through the game of softball,” Gaddis said. “The game plan doesn’t change;, you go out and leave it all on the field every game.