Varsity:
The 2025 softball season has taken off and the girls and coaches on the team are working extremely hard to solidify more wins for OHS.
Varsity softball continues to crush their goals and improve with the help of teamwork, hard work, and their genuine camaraderie.
“It’s been going pretty well. We just took third place at Bullhead, which was better than last year, and I feel like we have a really good team [this season],” said Malawni Snyder, sophomore.
Even though there have been some losses, the girls continue to keep high spirits and positivity present throughout their team.
“We lost against Hamilton, although, I think if we bring our spirits up we can still beat them,” said Imani Williams, sophomore.
The OHS softball team practices almost every day of the week to work on what they need to improve.
“We do a lot during practice, we get a lot done,” said Chloe Holbrook, sophomore. “We field, then we hit, and then we do more fielding; there’s a lot of moving parts to it and it really works.”
In order to prepare for games, the girls on the team each have their own personal ways to get both mentally and physically ready.
“Personally, I like to listen to some good music. I put my headphones in and listen by myself; I think about how the game is going to go and visualize it,” Holbrook said.
These small rituals help to get the girls’ minds in the game and lay the groundwork for a win.
“I always do bubble braids because it’s my game-day hair and game-day ritual, but we also always pray before games,” Snyder said.
The OHS softball team puts their faith first and it’s one of the most important things for many of the players on the team.
“I like how faithful we are. We pray with the other teams before and after every game, we do bible studies together, and that’s my favorite [aspect],” Holbrook said.
Even if it can get stressful sometimes, the girls on the team make sure to have fun while playing and getting to know each other, which outweighs any difficulties that may be present.
“I think we have a really special group of girls, we just love being around each other all the time. It’s sometimes hard to get that with high school girls,” said Charleigh Schuettler, senior. “We’re developing connections and relationships that aren’t softball related.”
In order to get closer to one another, the softball team works on bonding and doing fun activities on a social level instead of solely focusing on softball.
“Our team bonding could be team dinners after practice or even organized bonding at someone’s house,” Snyder said. “It provides a really good community. It’s open and is also a great way for people to connect through softball and school since we talk about everything.”
Some of the girls have been on the varsity softball team their entire high school career. Through it they’ve been able to be a part of the outstanding team community as it continues to improve year by year.
“I tried out my freshman year just because I love playing softball,” Schuettler said. “I’ve been on varsity all four years. It was an incredible feeling [making varsity]; I was super excited to play and learn from all the upperclassmen.”
OHS varsity softball is overall working towards one goal and are doing all in their power to achieve it.
“We want to win, we want to win the state title,” Holbrook said.
JV:
The JV softball team at OHS is also in the midst of their season and have been working on improving their team as a whole.
“So far it’s been great, as a team we’ve really connected and it looks like we’re only getting better from here. I can already tell that this team is a lot more ready to play and get better than last season,” said Sydney Barbian, sophomore.
Practices are similar to those of varsity, focusing on basic softball skills in order to improve for games.
“We go from hitting to fielding and sometimes we do base running and stuff; we’re having a lot of fun,” said Emmalyn Bruning, freshman.
Students may decide to try out for softball for different reasons, but it’s a common incentive that they have heard of the great program OHS provides.
“Even when I was in middle school and elementary I heard of all the alumni [from OHS] and I was just so excited to play with some of those future softball superstars,” Barbian said.
The OHS JV softball team also works towards being closer to one another through different team bonding activities.
“We do team dinners where we can sit and talk as people and not just softball players. We try to connect with each other whenever possible and then lock back in [for games],” Barbian said.
The strong sense of friendship throughout the team tends to develop due to how often the players are with each other.
“A lot of my best friends play [softball] and I just love it,” said Addison Walker, sophomore. “Every practice we all get really close because we talk a lot.”
Although there have been some obstacles this season for JV, the girls have tried their best to work past them.
“We’ve had a lot of girls on our team who have been hurt and haven’t been able to play,” Barbian said. “It’s definitely been difficult trying to get spots for everybody when they’re experiencing injuries or still healing from them, but we’re getting better thanks to athletic training.”
In the end, OHS softball keeps striving for success and continues to keep their wonderful companionship present.
“Our focus is just getting a little bit better every single day and trying to improve as much as we can,” Barbian said. “I really love the girls that I meet on the team and even the coaches too. There’s so many kind and funny people that I meet through softball.”
