It is very clear, according to the reactions from the high school softball team, that this season is going to be exciting. Unfortunately, though, the season has started off slow. Having lost to Friday Harbor, Concrete and LaConnor, the team is getting pretty disappointed, but there is certainly a lot of potential. Following the Concrete game, the head coach Jason Nichols spoke on the team and the game: “I say we started off slow, finished strong, but couldn’t catch up. That first inning was a killer for us, and we just really need to work on forgetting the mistakes and focusing on the next play.” Nichols’ words hold true for many sports because no game will be perfect, but every single one has the potential to be fun and successful. All it takes is hard work, dedication and a team spirit.
Coach Nichols has true faith in the team and is really looking forward to helping create a successful one. Said Nichols: “I’m really excited about this season. There are a lot of girls playing this season, and the team is very athletic. I can see a lot of potential in this team, and that is exciting.” The team this year is quite young with four seniors, one junior, three sophomores, six freshmen and four eighth-graders, who had to be brought up from middle school in order to complete the team. With the eight graders, the team has a total of 18 players. Although some people view having the eighth graders on the team as bad, there are more benefits for having them there than there are downsides. Most importantly, without the eighth graders there would be an incomplete team, but now the team has enough for Junior Varsity games, which allows all the players to get more experience. Lastly, come freshmen year for the eighth graders, they will already have firsthand experience and knowledge, creating a much better, seasoned team.
The team has been met with some pretty stiff competition right out of the gate, but when questioned if he thinks the team can make it to state, Coach Nichols replied: “I always think we have a chance at state. Like I said we’re a very athletic team. If the players work together and really try, just like the quarterback for the Seahawks says, why not us?” It is apparent that the team has a great support system, and all it needs is hard work to make them successful. If everyone works together, it can be a great season.
“The best part [of coaching] is being able to watch the team improve and complete their goals and knowing that I had a hand in creating that,” Coach Nichols stated enthusiastically. It is a blessing for the Lady Vikings to have such an excited coach and a team that has such capacity for success. After some tweaks to the offense and defense, there is a lot that this team can accomplish and they can definitely turn into the team to beat. Come down and support the Orcas Island High School Lady Vikings as they make their way to the top! Just as Bill Durham once said: “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.”