ELSAH, ILL. -- We had a chance to visit with Coach Ken Leavoy and get his thoughts on softball’s first season after being reinstated as a Varsity sport. Here are some of his thoughts on the season.
Head Sofball Coach, Ken Leavoy - Spring 2010 Season:
All in all it was a very good season. Our win/loss record wasn’t what we would have liked and I will comment on that later but overall we did accomplish a lot. It was really important that this year’s team understand, buy into and strive to reach for the expectations of this program. The program had to be built on something deeper than a win/loss record. Don’t get me wrong, we want to win and I expect we will get there in the next few years but wins and losses on the score board are not what it is totally about. Each team member was required to read Education at The Principia (EAP) to get a clearer understanding of what Mrs. Morgan envisioned when she started this school. We use the softball field as our laboratory to practice what Mrs. Morgan expected. We are to become bigger thinkers, more selfless in our giving and strive to be individuals with high expectations. I think we did a pretty good job establishing a solid foundation to build on.
Going 1 and 23 is not exactly something to write home about. It was disappointing but there are other factors to be aware of. As a first year program we not only had individuals on the team that had never played softball before but they also were in our starting lineup. We were by far the team in our Conference with the least amount of experience. Those on the team that did have some experience hadn’t played for several years so there was a lot of rust to remove. While we may have been the underdog in every game we played we played the game the way you are supposed to. This team played hard, never quit and had a lot of fun doing it. A parent from one of our Conference opponents sent me an email after watching us play his daughters team. He said he didn’t know that we had not won a game yet when we were playing his daughters’ team and he said you couldn’t tell. He was impressed with the way they hustled on and off the field. He also said their love of the game and their heart were clearly displayed all game long. We may not have won very many games on the score board but the team won a lot of the character parts of the game.
Next year looks promising. Three individuals who were away on a Spring Abroad program this year have indicated that they will be with the team next spring. We already have several incoming freshmen with playing experience who look like they will help us play the game better. We look to be a much improved squad next season.
We recognized three players with awards this year. Our “Most Improved Player” was Karlin Krishnaswami. Our “Outstanding Teammate” (chosen by the players) was Bekah Charlston and our “MVP” was Andie Raffles.
I would be remiss in not mentioning what a great job the school has done in building an excellent field. One of the coaches from our Conference said it is already the best field in the Conference. There is still more work to be done but it is a great surface to play on and an aesthetically pleasing one to look at.
Lastly and this is a little off topic but I would like to ask former players to email me so that we can build up our Softball Alumni list. I would love to hear from them and of course let them know they will always be welcome.