Young softball team prepares for action

Practice makes perfect - or at least as close as you can get to perfection in sports.

The UMKC softball team, led by Head Coach Meredith Smith, is practicing 6 days a week in preparation for the team's 60-game spring season (16 of which will be played at home).

The team practices at a variety of locations including Old Swinney, Swinney Recreation Center, Mac-N-Seitz and Mid-America Sports Complex.

But don't think all these practices are aimed solely at winning more games.

Smith said that, in addition to wanting to increase the team's total wins, the team hopes to continue "developing our sophomores and freshmen in hopes of becoming better every year and to function as a unit for a common goal instead of individual accomplishments."

Helping the team - which consists of 11 freshmen, 5 sophomores, 3 juniors and 2 seniors - accomplish their goals will be returning seniors Sam Hurst (pitcher) and Amanda Evans (catcher). The pair will lead the team defensively.

"Sam was one of the Summit League's top pitchers with the most strikeouts last year, and Amanda will need to control the field from behind the plate," Smith said.

Also leading the defensive front will be junior Carli Slagle and freshman Kaelene Curry. They will lead the field from outfield and short stop, respectively.

Offensively, Smith anticipates Slagle (who led the team in home runs last year), freshman Kelly Fischer and sophomore Ashley Whiteside to be the driving force behind the Roos.

Despite such strong leadership, Smith said there are still some aspects of the game the team needs to work on in the next 14 days.

"They are still young," Smith said. "And the team needs to focus on the immediate task at hand and stay focused till they complete it - hitting with a purpose [and] running bases with a purpose. On the other hand, they need to be able to flush the mistakes away immediately and focus on the next task."

Flushing away the mistakes is probably much easier for the players due to their great team chemistry. Because of the way the women interact with one another, they are better equipped to form a more cohesive unit, according to the coach.

"We have a better sense of teamwork," she said. "Our freshmen are now learning from upperclassmen. There is more pride in the team; it is becoming their own."

The teamwork the softball team possesses reaches out farther than the softball field.

You would think that after spending hours each day, six days a week with a certain group of people, you would be tired of them. Not so for these women.

When the team is off the field, it is likely they are volunteering in one of the many community organizations in Kansas City.

In addition to working with groups such as Harvesters, camps and clinics for the Boys and Girls Club, and the RBI Softball Program, the softball team sponsored a walk-a-thon and a Wiffle Ball tournament for UMKC soccer player, Brandon Nilsson, titled "Friends for Brandon." (Nilsson was diagnosed with lymphoma in summer 2008.)

If the team's impact on the community is any indication of what the team's impact will be on the field, the team's energy and work-ethic is sure to pay off.

The softball team's first match-up is scheduled for Feb. 6 against Colorado State at La Cruces, N.M.

tkloeppel@unews.com