Last year, the girls softball team played two games. Kinsley Romero’27 was only able to play in one of those games, due to an injury. In her only game of the season, Kinsley played in front of stands populated only by parents. This year, head softball coach Caitlyn O’Neal hopes to change that, in a complete rebuild of the structure of high school softball.
“We are coming from a year where we were building, and our first ever softball team in about 10 years of just Greenhills students,” said O’Neal. “This year, we’re hopefully going to have a bit more people involved. But It’s hard to tell.”
O’Neal hopes that a combination of more student interest and a revised schedule will result in a more successful season.
“We have eight games scheduled so far, and we’re working on getting about 12 or 13 scheduled,” said O’Neal. “And we’ll be playing in the districts this year. So I’m really excited. It’s going to be a fun spring.”
O’Neal aspires to create a better season and environment for members of the softball team; some players were unsatisfied with last year’s experience.
“I’m actually pretty happy about these changes, because last year, it wasn’t really going so well, and our team was falling apart,” said Lea Aghssa’25. “But now that there’s more people, We’re a lot happier, and now we can actually grow as a group and a sport.”
O’Neal has spent the off-season pushing for this change. She wants to build a new community where everyone can succeed.
“I was advocating for our team,” said O’Neal. “I know what it’s like to be on a team where everyone is committed and everyone is all in and that’s what I wanted for our team. It was hard for our team last year to be practicing all year and then only have two games. So I hope that this year, you know, they will understand all that hard work this past year has led to this year.”
The team has multiple goals this year. Right now, they are centered around the growth and development of the sport.
“We’re really about expansion right now, trying to get more people to do softball and become interested in it,” said Peyton Hudson’27. “We’re also just working on building a tighter and closer team dynamic.”
O’Neal also has goals for her team. She wants to build a community for the players and help her players improve.
“My goal for our team this year is to build a culture where everyone wants to be there,” said O’Neal. “It would be great if we won one game. But, as long as the players are able to learn more about softball by the time they’re done with the season, that means I’ve done my job. And if they happen to also be better people, that’s the most important thing.”
The team will have an influx of freshmen this year. While they had less than 10 players last year, there are more than 20 players signed up for the softball team’s info season on Feb 7.
“I’m happy about it. I actually really like the sport,” said Aghssa. “I’ve played since freshman year, and when I started, we were paired with FGR (Father Gabriel Richard), but they disbanded my sophomore year. I’m pretty much happy about it, that more people want to play the sport, and it gets acknowledged by our school. And this year, we won’t have to worry about any penalties for having one less player which is always nice.”
Romero also thinks that the club fair has been key in the broader interest in the softball team.
“Nobody really showed up to our games except probably parents, but I feel like this year more people will show up,” said Romero. “And I think what definitely helped with that was the club fair. There were a lot more people signing up for softball, and that was really helpful.”
O’Neal is very passionate about softball. She hopes that this year, her coaching will help her players improve and that she will continue to grow the sport of softball at Greenhills.
“I would love to have anyone that’s interested join us,” said O’Neal. “I think softball is one of the most team-oriented sports. It’s a sport that honestly you could play at any stage of your life. It’s a great way to connect with people and learn how to be a good teammate.”
