Last spring, Greenhills dusted off the bases on its own ‘Field of Dreams,’ a softball field where they fielded a team of nine players for the upcoming softball season following their one year hiatus without a team. In its first season back, the team ended up playing one game that ended in a loss to Detroit Cristo Rey School. This year, the team is looking to improve on their rebuilding year.
In his 13 years at Greenhills, second-year athletic director Tom Ward has seen the softball program evolve from a partnership with various schools to a halt because of low interest and now to a full team for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
“We always wanted softball,” said Ward. “We’ve got a great on‑campus facility. We consistently had strong participation at the middle school level, which reinforced the belief that we could offer upper school softball again.”
While interest was there, having a dedicated coach was even more important in growing the program. Coaches Caitlin O’Neal and Ed Arbour played a large role in building the team;
“A huge amount of credit goes to Coach O’Neal for spearheading this restart, building energy and reaching out,” said Ward. “She got an incredible number of girls to come out for the team. 10 to 12 players might not sound like a lot, but that’s 10 times more than we had three years ago.”
The team has a roster of 12 players this season, and the number of games has increased: after playing a couple of games last year, it has 10 scheduled this season.
“Getting numbers has been the most difficult part,” said O’Neal. “It’s just trying to get enough people to try out. Softball is the type of sport where, if you’re scared of the ball, it may not be as attractive as track, where you just run. It’s especially tough since we haven’t had a team in a while, and many people haven’t been exposed to softball.”
Many on the team are new to the sport.
“We have a player who has never pitched before and is trying it for the first time — that’s a huge step,” said O’Neal. “We also have players hitting home runs during practice, which is so exciting. Once we play more games together, I think these pieces will start to click.”
Having a full roster allows the team to commit to a more robust schedule this season.
“We have about 12 players on the team this year,” said O’Neal. “Last year, we only had nine, so no one could get injured or miss a game. It’s really nice to finally have that extra cushion and some depth. It’s great to see that we are recruiting more players than we’re losing. It’s a sign of a good culture.”
The team is led by team captain Hailey Flohr ’27 who is committed to growing a tight knit culture.
“We want our team to feel more like a family,” said Flohr. “Everybody is encouraging each other, and we’re all together as one.”
Flohr hopes to see a crowd behind the team for its next home game May 15th against Detroit Cristo Rey at 5 p.m.
“I hope that people come to the softball games,” said Flohr. “We’re excited for our games. I think it’s getting more popular. More people are starting to talk about it, and people are getting hyped up about it.”
Flohr is also active in making sure newer players gain confidence in the game.
“Most of us hadn’t even played softball before,” said Flohr. “Now we’re all able to hit the ball really far and catch everything.”
Flohr is quick to appreciate O’Neal’s commitment.
“She encourages us a lot,” said Flohr. “If we have bad days, she helps us get through them.”
The growth of the program entering its second year back on campus isn’t measured solely by wins and losses.
“Our way of tracking progress right now isn’t wins and losses,” said Ward. “It’s opportunity and consistency.”
