By Lux Sheplee, Staff Writer
As temperatures begin to rise, spring sports seasons are approaching. River Hill offers a variety of spring activities, including girls’ softball. With tryouts starting on March 1st, many girls anticipate the upcoming season for both junior varsity and varsity softball.
Expressing her eagerness for the upcoming season, head varsity softball coach Marni Rosenbaum explains, “I am excited. It has been a very warm winter, which is getting me ready for the spring season.” Coach Rosenbaum, often called Rosie by her players, is in her eighteenth year of coaching high school varsity softball. “I’m also just excited for the new group, and for everyone to move up a grade and take different roles and positions on the team,” she added.
Returning varsity player Zoe Pachoca, a sophomore, is very excited for the new season. Regarding the success of the team last year, she said, “everybody got along on and off the field, and the team chemistry was very strong.” Zoe plays shortstop and looks forward to playing against Wilde Lake this season.
Roo Saglimbeni, a varsity assistant softball coach, explains that, “softball is a mental game, so the most important part is not necessarily the physical aspect of the game but the communication between players.” Coach Roo encourages a lot of collaboration amongst the team to improve their communication skills, therefore fostering a healthier and overall stronger playing environment. He also remarks that this season is “anyone’s game, as all the teams are changing, gaining new players and losing seniors.”
Sophomore Mariesa Torres-Hernandes, a second baseman on the JV, is happy to go into her second year of high school softball. Her favorite part of softball last year was getting to “meet new people and gain new experience, and now that we’re gonna have a new coach we get to see how that will change the coming season.” Mariesa especially looks forward to playing Glenelg this year, as Glenelg has proved to be good competition for the Hawks in previous years.
The former junior varsity coach, Lindsey Glascock, will be moving up to help coach varsity this season. Coach Glascock describes that, “some of the most important things are focusing on teamwork and how well the team meshes.” Agreeing with Coach Rosenbaum, Glascock thinks that Reservoir will be tough competition this year. She also thinks that Howard and Hebron will be good competition this year.
Former JV player junior Jasna Bhambra plans to try out for the varsity team this year. Jasna explains that she is, “willing to play any position, but is most well equipped for second base.” She looks forward to this season, and says that “softball builds teamwork and character, and the coaches really help with improvement.”
Katarina Thompson, a sophomore and returning varsity player, describes last season, “we had really good chemistry and were all really close, so it was a lot of fun.” This year, Katarina hopes to “integrate the freshmen and win as many games as possible.”
As winter sports wrap up their season, anticipation for spring sports intensifies. New people and coaches will be incorporated into the girls’ softball teams this year, and create a new dynamic. Players look forward to beating rivals and building relationships with their teammates.