As students adjust to the start of another semester there are some who are also adjusting to a new sports season. Snow College softball started their 2023 pre-season on January 27, and will follow up with the start of their regular season on March 3.
Along with a new softball season, Snow College introduced a new head coach for the team. Mikelle Magalogo, a former player and assistant coach for the College of Southern Idaho, signed on having Brooke Brown, a former badger and team member, and Savannah Lindsay, who managed last season as the interim head coach, as assistant coaches for this season.
With the start of their pre-season, and the regular season in the near future, coaches and players were asked about their team and personal goals.
Brown says, “As a staff, we hope to create a family-like culture, and provide our girls with the best environment to learn, grow, and become their best athlete and self. We have every intention of winning the conference this year, and leading this team to the national tournament.”
Sharing the same goal of winning this year's conference, freshman pitcher Brin Ellsworth hopes to compete in nationals after the conference as well, with it being her biggest goal of the season. Another of Brin’s personal goals that she mentions is, “to throw less than a 1.0 ERA,” which, in sports, is used to evaluate how well pitchers are at preventing runs from scoring.
As important as the sport is to these girls, so is the importance of their academics. When it comes to their academics, the team has a “student before athlete mindset” by having the girls ”work hard and prioritize their education,” says Brown. Hard work does pay off, with the girls having a 3.8 team GPA at the end of last semester.
The love of the game can be seen each time the badgers step onto the field, and the same could be said in regards to each teammate. “I love being on the field doing what I love, but the thing that makes it so lovable is playing alongside teammates that I love,” says sophomore pitcher, August Cowan. “The people I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by in this sport make it all worth it.”
Although just about any sport takes lots of time and dedication, players make it work with their hobbies outside of their athletics. Another freshman pitcher, Saige says, “Outside of softball, I love to go hunting with my siblings, cousins, and my dad. I also enjoy hiking and seeing new scenery throughout our state, as well as visiting new places.” With their academics, athletics, and hobbies, the softball team has many ways in which to keep themselves busy this semester.
In recent events, with the sudden loss of team member Paige Rydalch, both coaches and players have been adjusting during this difficult time, but the program and team are grateful for the outreach over the past few weeks. “We miss Paige deeply, but as a team we have decided to dedicate this year to her.” says Brown, “Our team has grown closer, and as a staff we feel that our mission has even more meaning behind it now.” Brown and the girls put in a word of thanks to the community for, as stated by Brown, “the texts, flowers, gifts, and other efforts we’ve received through this hard time.”
Visit snowbadgers.com for game times, dates, and locations, along with more sports related news articles and information on Snow College athletics.
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