As the spring season comes up and the weather outside warms up, it is now time for outdoor sports to come back around. One of the sports coming back here at John Dewey is the girls softball team. As girls start preparing for the new season, there are lots of changes that are coming to the John Dewey Softball team. These new changes have the students looking forward to the exciting new season. One of the biggest changes coming to the team this year are the new coaches that will be helping to provide a great season to these student-athletes. As known, the previous coach for the softball team was Mr. Zeno. However, this year’s head coach will be Mr. Pellegrito along with Mr. Monti and Mr. Greiner as the other coaches this year. Along with the changes in the coaches, PSAL has also moved the division for the girls softball team up to division AAAA therefore giving the girls a tougher season to compete in.
As these changes come into effect for the 2024 season, many of the girls participating are looking forward to see what this year brings for John Dewey Softball. According to returning senior player Emily Eugenio, “The change of coaches and change in division is a bit overwhelming and exciting because coach p is known to be a great coach and pushes his players to never give up. However being in a new division is overwhelming because we haven’t played ‘better teams’ but as a team we know we are going to do good and prepare for it.” There will be many challenges that the team will overcome, but it all starts with coming together as a team which is important. These players are aware that it may be tough, but what matters most is that they have fun and enjoy the experience of playing softball at John Dewey.
This years team has as variety of players whether they are returning from the previous year or this being the first time they have ever played softball in their life. However, even though some may have more experience than others, what matters to them is that they are able to have fun while playing softball. These students enjoy the fact that they can look forward to attending the practices and games for the sport. According to freshman Mehak Ali, “I feel very excited to play this season and for the next 3 years. I am looking forward to bonding with my teammates and getting better at my weaknesses. I can’t wait to win games and even play in the field!” Knowing that the players on the team are looking forward to enjoying the season and making the best out of every moment they spend on the field is what matters most. Of course everyone looks forward to winning, but these girls are willing to take the challenge and have fun with it as well which takes a lot of determination from the players.
Softball is an enjoyable sport for these students because it allows them to stay active, and enjoy the beautiful spring weather. It brings the students together and allows them to build new bonds that can grow throughout the years even after the season is over. According to this years head coach, Mr. Pellegrito, ¨Id like to bring popularity to the game of softball back to JDHS. Its a great game and an amazing team building sport to make new friends. The game of softball has a reputation of lacking action but id like to change that perception with fun, active and competitive practices.¨ With the coaches having this mindset of having fun while being competitive, it definitely reflects on how eager these students will be for this season. This will result in a very exciting year as the team expects to have fun and win games!
