There’s nothing soft about softball, and the Bear River Softball team is working hard to prove that with early season conditioning. 

This year’s Junior Varsity and Varsity team have started conditioning for the upcoming spring season. Varsity Softball Coach Vincent Nawrocki has been tasking them with several activities to improve their physical abilities, and doing drills twice a week to get ready to play a great season. 

Last year, the team faced a rough season as rain impeded on their practice time, which is part of why they’re taking advantage of the better weather this year by starting early. Coach Nawrocki described last year’s season and how the early training will benefit the team. 

“We started late last year, so it affected the way we play,” he said. “I want to get a head start this year so we are ready physically for the season. We were also short on girls because a lot of them were hurt … Your body is stronger then your mind thinks you are. You might hate us and you will be sore and want to quit but this will benefit us during the season.” 

With other sports typically not offering pre-season conditioning, many players were torn on whether these sessions are beneficial for the team. Freshman Rylee Pratt expressed how she is actually enjoyed the conditioning.       

“I really like it personally because it is fun for me,” she said. “I am getting in better shape then I was when I started playing softball three years ago, and it prepares me for the season.”

“I think conditioning is a good idea and I am glad that we started this early,” said Junior Livia Nawrocki. “Last year, we didn’t have enough time to get ready for the season because of all the rain, but this year we will be ready. I like how we are pushed to do our best — it encourages us to be better players and teammates. 

Even though conditioning can certainly be helpful, there were other teammates who said that they did not personally enjoy conditioning, such as Joley Texeira, a junior.

“I personally do not enjoy the conditioning that much, but I will do whatever to make me better for the season,” she said.

Texeira continued to explain why Coach Nawrocki started conditioning three months prior to the season.

“Last year we didn’t do too good because a lot of players were hurt but it was still fun,” she said. ” … The season was only hard because we lost the only pitcher we had and starting catcher at the beginning of the season due to injuries. We did not have a lot of players or substitutes, but we still worked very hard to compete in every game.” 

Coach Nawrocki expressed his hopes and goals for the upcoming season, keeping their overall ambitions pretty simple. 

“My goals for the upcoming season will be to have enough girls to play and compete,” he said. “Our main goal is to have everybody in shape, everybody ready to play.”