FPU Softball Practicing on Changing the Culture
By Andrew Hoenig
On a sunny but chilly late Thursday, January 25, the Ravens softball team was hard at work practicing as its season draws near.
Hannah Griffin, who is going into her second year as the head coach of the team, had the Ravens getting extra work in for a couple hours from 4-6 p.m. After going 1-34 in her first season, Griffin says that going into her second season they’re really trying to “develop the culture.”
“We want to make sure that there is a culture here that defines what FPU Softball is and what it has always been,” said Griffin. Griffin says she’s still putting her efforts into trying “to get the team on the same page.” This effort was on full display Thursday in what was a very loud atmosphere in the Bubble. The team worked on batting and pitching in “The Cage” next to the basketball courts while the FPU men’s lacrosse team had one of their lifts.
FPU Softball practicing under the bright lights in “The Cage” (Photo: Andrew Hoenig)
Amid the chaos of another busy day in the Bubble, the Ravens looked focused. Using the indoor soccer field, the players and their coaches worked on playing the infield and the outfield. Griffin pushed her team, but also kept the practice good-natured. Before the last running and stretching segment of practice, Griffin had the Ravens run what is called a relay drill or in other terms “hitting the cut.”
This drill was a friendly competition as four lines of four players each spread out across the length of the soccer field. The goal was to see which team of four could successfully keep the ball in play. This meant the ball could not be dropped at any point and had to be thrown to every one of the four players in the line, completing the drill in four loops faster than the other three lines.
Griffin says this drill is a way for her to work the team and try to keep practices intense yet enthusiastic. “We don’t want practices to be quiet and reserved. We work to bring out the tempo,” she said. Griffin also does this is by having the team assign a new leader every practice. “We do that so we can work on and keep up our communication. We run communication drills every practice,” Griffin said.
Griffin says she “feels very optimistic” as the Ravens head toward Opening Day. “We’ve had some high points and we’ve had some rough points,” she said. “We also have a lot of new faces and our team is very young.” The Ravens will feature nine freshmen who are looking to earn their playing time on a squad which also features seven seniors.
Freshman Bre Eastlick practices an infield drill at Thursday’s practice (Photo: Andrew Hoenig)
One of those freshmen, Breanna Eastlick, from Rocklin, California, is feeling positive as the team heads toward their first game. “I think that this season is going pretty well. We have some things to work on but I think by the time the season starts we will be ready,” said Eastlick.
The Ravens’ first games will be held in Arizona as they escape the cold winter weather of New England. “Yeah, we are really looking forward to that,” Eastlick said with a smile. The Ravens Softball team’s Opening Day is February 15 in Tucson against California Baptist at 12 p.m. and the University of Mary at 5 p.m. in Abraham Lincoln Regional Park.
