Hornet Softball Coach Kimberly Bowen has 14 girls on her varsity squad and her assistants this year are Kathy Mason, Tony Loftus, Carlee Stenslie, and Kellie Morehouse.

The team consists of seniors Masyn Deckard, Taya Fjone, Caitlyn Fourdyce, Cassie Howe, Sydney Stortz, Megan Vetter, juniors Emerson Bowne, Tristyn Deckard, Emma Jacobs, Anna Lund, Ruby Stockham, sophomores Grace Knodle, Sydnie Loftus and freshman Ava Prosser.

“These are a great group of girls to coach,” said the Hornet Head Coach.  “They work hard and want to learn and get better every day.”  

Bowen said that in 2020, of course, the season was canceled due to COVID-19. In 2021, her team had to stop play for 10 days due to COVID-related issues and another five days due to moving to distance learning.  

“This really disrupted our season and made us play a lot of games in the last two weeks of the season,” she said.

Bowen enjoys the role of head coach and says the most rewarding part of coaching is watching these young women grow and become more confident not just in their softball skills but in all aspects of their life.

Bowen named her captains for 2022 in Masyn Deckard, Cassie Howe and Taya Fjone - all seniors.  

“They were chosen as captains because they are great leaders, put the team first, and are excellent role models for the rest of the team,” Bowen said.

With Mother Nature not quite cooperating yet this spring, Bowen and her squad spend many days indoors in the batting cages and playing catch. Her team spends about 15-20 minutes on exercising and stretching — key to staying limber and enduring the summer heat.

“I want the girls to have fun while working hard every day to improve,” said Bowen. “If we do that, we will reach our other goals as well.”

“The hardest part about coaching softball is the mental aspect of the game,” Bowen says. “There is a lot of time to think in the game of softball and each player is in the spotlight at some time during the game.” 

She also points out that softball is also a sport where you fail more than you succeed.  

“The best hitters fail six out of every 10 at bats,” she says. “You must be mentally tough enough to handle that failure and keep believing in yourself.”

And in order to have her team playing at a level comparable to the rest of the best, Bowen has a unerring philosophy.

“We need to keep doing our drills to improve our skills and make sure our positive thoughts are louder than the voice of doubt within us all.

Bowen is a Science Teacher at the high school.