Photo credit: Charlotte Whittington

Daisy Neipris (’32) prepares to catch a ball during practice. Neipris said part of what makes the game really fun is how everyone cheers for her, ultimately making her feel less nervous. “My friends are really supportive of me, and there’s a lot of cheering when you walk up to the plate, and it makes everything less scary because if someone’s hurling the ball at you, it’s pretty scary,” Neipris said. “Hearing people on my team and people who are watching the game cheer for me, it feels really good.”

This was the scene Daisy Neipris (’32) described from this year’s softball season. It’s the final inning of the game, and Archer’s middle school softball team is down by one point. The sun gleams down on the field as the pitcher prepares to throw the first ball. It’s thrown — strike! The second is thrown — strike! Her teammates shout with joy at her success.

The middle school softball team’s season started Feb. 18 and ended April 22. The team held after-school practices on Mondays and Thursdays each week on the back field.

Science teacher Alyssa Worbetz was the coach of the team for the first time this year. She played softball throughout high school and began to coach after graduating from college. She said teamwork is a different experience for everyone, so bonding with teammates and building effective communication is key.

“It can vary from day to day. We’re learning how to be a better team and that’s kind of the process. In middle school, it’s like, ‘What does teamwork look like?’ So it’s something we try to talk about all the time,” Worbetz said. “I go, and I put away equipment together as a team, we warm up together as a team. We try to do as much as we can as a team together and that kind of builds that camaraderie.”

Daisy Neipris (’32) was new to the sport. Her experience with the team has been a positive one, she said. She loves going to practice and games because her friends are on the team.

“I think that being able to look forward to practice constantly is really, really exciting because I get to spend it with my friends,” Neipris said. “Getting out of class early, changing with them, it makes the experience a lot more fun.”

Neipris said teamwork is essential to have a proper game. She said the pitcher on the team struck out two players, an important way to help the team come back during a loss in their game against Windward, and the whole team came together to cheer her on.

“In our last game against Windward, I think the final score was 7 to 6, and Windward had a player on third,” Neipris said. “And if they made this shot, they would win. And our pitcher struck two people out in a row, and I thought that was really impressive, and the whole team was cheering for her in that moment. A lot of people screamed when she threw the last ball. I feel like the idea of being able to cheer for someone on your team together is really, really important.”

Teamwork not only helps the team play together, but it also comes in handy in times of pressure, Worbetz said. She has seen the players on the team come together to support and encourage each other as a group during high-stakes games.

“I’ve seen a handful be just, ‘Hey, you got this’ — positive, the cheering, the supporting, like ‘I’m here for you,'” Worbetz said. “And then, even sometimes — and this is something that we’re working on — is that when we’re in those situations, seeing the field players doing their best to make the plays, and if they aren’t or if there are errors, coming back when they’re hitting to try to make up for that.”

Everly Lawson (’30) is a center fielder for the team and also started on the team this year. She said teamwork has helped her team play better during games through communication and being codependent with her teammates.

“Teamwork has really played a big role in how our team’s been playing, because we’ve been playing super well, and I feel like you can really tell how communicative we all are,” Lawson said. “When you’re with the team, and you have really good teamwork, and you like the people on your team, you play so much better. I’ve seen that in our team while watching us play or just seeing them play. I’ve seen how everybody really likes each other and how that and being vocal has really affected how we play in a good way.”

Whether it be softball or another sport, many players on a team can have their own individual talent, but to work together on a team, they have to combine their talents, Neipris said. Not only that, she said, but they have to let others be the star of the moment and come to terms with not getting all the attention.

“You can be amazing at softball, you can catch every ball, you can make every shot, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you would be a good player on a team. In order to be a good team player, you have to not be the star of every moment, but you have to be happy when other people are the star. You have to share the attention,” Neipris said. “I think it’s hard to be on a team, but it’s really rewarding.”