June 27, 2008 01:05 pm
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By Rebecca Kanan
Girls on the softball field. It’s a far cry from riders on horses delivering the mail. Nevertheless, the name Ponytail Express indicates the speed and perseverance of this Carl Junction-based tournament team that has eyes on the national prize.
Coaches Greg Steele and Mark Tyler have seen rapid success since putting this team together under the Ponytail Express name last year (2007), to play ball in the Fall season, when most league teams have ended play.
“To fill vacancies this (Spring) season, we held tryouts,” said Steele. “The 2008 Ponytail Express team is made up of girls from Carl Junction, Joplin, Jasper, Webb City, Galena and Riverton.”
While many of the girls are still playing on 12-under league teams through July, with one or two games a week in their respective leagues, they come together for competition team practice twice a week and play tournaments three weekends of every month.
Steele said the team participated in its first tournament March 8-9 of this year. As of this week (late June), the team expects to have played more than 50 games together.
Many of those games were in pursuit of qualifying for national competition July 21-27 in Bashor, KS, facing teams from Missouri, Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska, according to Steele.
In order to qualify for nationals, Ponytail Express “had to place first in an AFA (American Fastpitch Association) tournament. In addition to qualifying for AFA Nationals, we are qualified for USSSA (United States Specialty Sports Association) World Series..,” said Steele.
Qualifying for Nationals is a great accomplishment for the girls,” he added. “They put in a lot of time, filled with hard work and dedication.”
By the time the Express goes to national competition in July, they will have played more than 70 games, according to Steele. “In our free time, we hold various fund raisers and seek sponsorship to help alleviate some of the expenses associated with the week-long trip,” he added.
Asked how the team improved to the level at which it is now playing, Steele credited the girls themselves primarily. “Our girls are unique; they know when they’ve done something wrong and set out to correct it themselves,” he said. “Each girl carries her weight. They don’t think as individuals they are ‘it.’ I can put any girl in any position and they play it willingly.”
Steele noted that within the group of 11 girls, each player is trying to build the confidence and skills of the others, citing a case of one player who was so encouraged by the others that she lost her initial shyness within two weeks.
“We are not a hotdog team out there blowing everyone away,” said Steele. “We’ve had plenty of games that we lost.”
However, the main ingredient of a successful team is attitude, he said. “I can’t stress enough how huge it is with us.”
“We picked girls to start with who wanted to keep playing into the Fall. But we picked girls who we could coach. If you can’t coach them, you can’t get anywhere,” added Steele.
There are likely to be other teams qualifying throughout the summer, as they amass the points needed for a berth.
According to the USSSA Web site, teams in Missouri may qualify by either of two methods: by direct berth on a sliding scale per division, or by at-large berth, dependent upon participation in a specified number of tournaments. All teams must play in officially sanctioned tournaments to be qualified for Nationals or the World Series.
In an age when women’s softball has become increasingly popular, due in part to the talent of headliners Jenny Finch and the U.S. Olympic softball team, local participation in girls’ softball has been on the increase, as well. Softball is offered by area organizations for girls from tee-ball age through 18-under leagues. Indoor practice areas have allowed year-round training, too.
Steele noted, “Our girls have not only bonded as a team, but are friends off the ball field. In addition, they have developed friendships with girls from opposing teams. It is not unusual for you to see our girls hanging out with girls from the other teams in between games.
“This is about creating lifelong experiences and lessons.”
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