The First Game



Penn Township practice field

After three months, three coaches, thirty junior high girls, and a remarkable amount of work, Tammy Newberry watches from the third base line as the Selinsgrove Seals score their winning run for their first game and win of the season. Tammy is the head coach of the Selinsgrove Seals junior high softball team and assistant coach for the high school team. While many coaches may only stay on a team for a couple of seasons, for the last ten years, Tammy has been the coach for the Seals and always looks forward to watching the players succeed and learn from their failures throughout the season. Tammy’s dedication to coaching puts her through many trials and tests, but she continues to coach due to her love for the game and watching the girls improve from junior high to high school softball.

Selinsgrove softball player up to bat

            As any good coach knows, the players must master all of the basic components of softball before being thrown into a game situation. “Softball requires the ability to throw, catch, hit the ball, run the bases, and know what to do with the ball at each of the positions,” Tammy remarks with seriousness. Each practice begins with drills and warm ups that include each of these areas. The girls line up from the chalky white first base line all the way between second and third base to begin practice by throwing to each other. Although this may seem unnecessary most important element of playing softball.  Alongside throwing and catching, swinging a bat becomes vital when trying to score runs to win a game. Learning and relearning these basic components of softball helps the girls improve throughout the entirety of all the practices and games.

Tammy Newberry having a team meeting before
the first game

                        Winning the first game of the season not only sets the stage for the rest of their games, but also displays how much effort occurred throughout the preseason practices by both Tammy and the girls. “As a coach, I try to prepare the girls the best I can to be ready for that first game, because the first game of the season is always the hardest. It also allows me to see what areas of defense and offense the girls need to improve on.” While walking onto the unkempt practice field for the last time before their first game, the girls wear looks of nervousness and appear on edge. Having previously played for junior high and high school softball herself, Tammy knew exactly what thoughts were running through their heads and how to get them ready for the big game. Through the years, Tammy learned that simulating real game situations in areas such as base running, team defense, and batting greatly improves performance during actual games.

During this final practice, the girls line up on home plate all the way down to first base as Tammy begins dividing them into teams for a scrimmage. This scrimmage, being very similar to a real, seven-inning game, will help the girls be more prepared for their first game they will be facing the next day. The players took their positions on the field and pulled their blue and white batting helmets onto their heads and grabbed their bats as they started the first inning of the scrimmage. Towards the end of the second inning, the girls' looks of nervousness and anxiety start to disappear and are slowly replaced with looks of determination and excitement as the game begins to liven. Tammy takes note that the girls are more aggressive both at bat and in their defensive positions as the scrimmage progresses, which is just what she expects as a coach. In the final and seventh inning, the girls are breathing heavily and wear wisps of sweat on their faces, but smiles also form as they are satisfied by their hard work and newly found confidence. At this point, both Tammy and the girls begin to feel certain of their abilities to play as hard as they can for the upcoming game against Jersey Shore the next day. 

            Scrimmages and other coaching techniques play a big role not only in the physical aspects of softball, but also in some crucial, mental standpoints that come along with the sport. Tammy explains that another part of her role as a coach is to prepare the girls mentally for the season, including their sportsmanship attitudes along with accepting their roles or positions on the team. One of the most important outlooks that a player must come to terms with is that their position is important for the whole team and should be taken seriously whether they want to be playing there or not. If someone is not going to have this outlook, they sit the bench until they understand why this is so important. Another job that both Tammy and the girls need to fulfill to create a good playing atmosphere is cheering on each other both in times of victory and failure. One of the rules that the players and Tammy play and learn by is "No excuses." Creating excuses does not allow the girls to learn from their mistakes, it only justifies their failures. Good sportsmanship is a serious part of playing any sport and helps determine whether or not a team is going to succeed or fail in their ventures. Mentally, the girls are now prepared to go out and strive for their first win of the season and continue to face the future games with confidence, even if it requires learning from previous mistakes.

Tammy Newberry at one of her practices

  

            “This first game is going to either charge these girls with confidence or take some of it away. In either situation, these girls will strive to improve and it’s one of my jobs as a coach to help them do just that,” Tammy says with confidence. After the umpires finished checking both teams’ bats and helmets, the girls in blue jerseys, white pants, and blue socks grabbed their dirt-covered mitts and took their positions on the field to start the game. Another major job that Tammy must fulfill as a coach requires her to help the girls out while they hit by coaching from third base. As Tammy stands along the third base line in her bright red shirt that reads “Coach Tammy,” she gives the girls up to bat and on base signals to hit or bunt the ball and to steal the bases. “The girls aren't completely on their own during the game. All three of us, including Coach Kreger, Coach Rogers and I, are there to guide them and give them strategies to help them succeed,” Tammy explains As the game reached the end of the fifth inning, the atmosphere began to liven and the crowd began to cheer words of encouragement as the Selinsgrove Seals scored their eleventh run. Past the newly lined infield, freshly cut outfield, and fence, the final score read eleven for the home team and zero for the away team. The girls performed almost flawlessly and ended the game early with a ten run rule also known as a mercy rule. After the game, Tammy produced a look of satisfaction upon her face for both how well the team played and knowing that she was able to assist in the win through her coaching at practices and during the game.