A new lease on softball

Michael Pineda
The Duncan Banner

COMANCHE August 25, 2008 11:34 am

— COMANCHE — It’s a brand new day for Comanche High School softball. Sparked by an 8-0 start on the season, the Lady Indians have found their confidence and have established themselves as one of the top teams in the area.
After dropping their first two games of the season on Saturday to Lone Grove and Latta, Comanche is looking to get back on track today when it hosts Marlow. The Lady Outlaws enter the game with a 5-4 record but have won their three last games. For Comanche, this will be an opportunity to respond to adversity and get back on track and prove it is a contender in Class 3A.
“I think we have more confidence,” senior shortstop Cassie Sanders said. “Last year we didn’t have much confidence. Coach Berry has made us realize our potential. We look forward to practice and we work so hard, it carries over in games. You practice like you play.”
Coach Berry came to Comanche after a two-year stint at Chickasha. During the summer he was able to become familiar with his personnel and became aware that he had the type of team that could compete for a spot in the state tournament. For Berry, the key was to win the team over, let it drink the kool-aid.
“Evidently they’re drinking the same thing,” Berry said. “It is showing up in everyone. They have the same attitude and believe in the team concept.
“Ever since we came out of the Ardmore Summer League, the attitude has carried over. Different ones take charge at different times. Someone is always taking charge and that is what it is going to take.”
The team concept has taken hold and has the team setting its goals high. In the past, Comanche, like every other team in the state, has talked about making it to state. And like most teams, it has been mainly lip service. The difference in this year’s version of the Lady Indians is that those words no longer have a cheap ring to them.
“I always wanted to go to state but I never thought it could happen,” Senior Kenzie Reed said. “We take a lot of pride in what we have accomplished. This being my last year, I am trying harder than I ever have before. We won’t get another chance. I feel like we can do it this year. I have confidence in this team.”
Confidence and faith in the team has been a key element in Comanche’s early success. With freshmen and sophomores throughout the lineup, the team has had to grow up fast and led by freshman Jacobi Clark, the team has exceeded Berry’s expectations. Entering the season, the veteran coach figured his team would have a 5-3, 6-2 record entering the Healdton Festival on Saturday.
“I’m very proud of our freshmen,” Sanders said. “ They have really stepped it up. Watching them play, you wouldn’t know that they were freshmen.”
This summer was a proving ground for not only the freshmen but the team as a whole. When Comanche held their own and began defeating proven teams, it began to see itself as a legitimate area force.
Even with the solid start to the season, the Lady Indians realize their toughest days lie ahead as evidenced this weekend. It is that realization that keeps the team focused on its goals rather than basking in its early success.
“You can’t get to big-headed,” Reed said. “There are still more teams out there that are closer to our ability than we have been playing.”
Berry has been through the battles and realizes that the softball season is a marathon, not a sprint. Coming into the season, he talked about the Lady Indians taking a step back sometime into the season and needing to be able to answer adversity. While the two game losing streak does not constitute a wall, it will give the team a chance to look within itself and find out what it is about.
“ The only thing that I have impressed on them is that we want to play in the middle of October,” Berry said. “I told them it doesn’t hurt to be lucky, but it takes hard work. In order for us to be playing late in the season, we will have to be lucky. We have to continue to get better. That is what I see with this team.”

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