Inside Sports
Life never ends for a pair of Jr. Lady Bucks
As soon as the high school softball season ended, the summer season began. For Smackover’s Karli Goocher and Lydia Pullin, softball is a continuous loop with all of the seasons sort of merging into, hopefully, one future pot of gold.
The two juniors-to-be attended the University of Arkansas Elite All-Skills Camp in Fayetteville this month. They also went to the camp at Henderson State University while competing on the South Arkansas Slammers travel team.
It’s a busy, hectic, hot summer for the girls. An important one, too.
“It’s pretty big because this year is basically make it or break it. I go to these colleges for camps and showcase myself. If they don’t like me then I need to improve before my senior year,” said Pullin, who played right field for Smackover in the spring and was a finalist for News-Times Softball Player of the Year.
Pullin batted .465 with eight homers. She hopes to improve on her overall game but, specifically, “My hitting,” she said. “I’ve been lifting more weights and trying to get stronger. I have a trainer at Health Works. I’m working on getting faster and building more muscle –
upper body and lower body.”
Goocher played in the outfield as a freshman and was at first base last season at Smackover. She’ll take over the catcher position next year and has played behind the plate exclusively this summer. In addition to the All Skills Camp, she also attended the Pitcher-Catcher Camp in Fayetteville.
“I love catching. It’s what I hope to do when I get to college ball,” said Goocher, who batted .398 with four homers for the Lady Bucks.
Both girls said the camps in Fayetteville were beneficial.
“They taught us a lot about hitting and their way of hitting. I like the way they taught hitting-wise. It was good. I loved it,” said Goocher. “Mainly they taught us to get the timing down because timing is everything. In your hitting, it’s everything. They talked a lot about stepping with your front foot. That’s when they can tell if you’re swinging late. She taught getting your front foot down. It was really basic stuff but it was so basic that you didn’t really think about it. It was really about your timing. Your front foot is your starting point of your swing.”
Added Pullin, “I learned a lot about my hitting and how to not over-correct myself and let my body take over. And, how to correctly field the ball.”
Both girls have aspirations of playing softball in college and are taking the necessary steps toward that goal during the summer. Goocher, in fact, is swinging for the fence when it comes to her goals.
“I really hope that I will be able to go to Arkansas,” she revealed. “That is what I’m trying to do, right now. I hope I can keep getting better as a catcher and as a softball player. I absolutely love Coach (Courtney) Deifel. I’ve been emailing her and telling her where I play and that kind of stuff. My goal is to get into her mind so hopefully she’ll see me.”
The Razorbacks advanced to the NCAA Tournament and recruit nationwide. It’s a lofty goal for a Smackover girl.
“I’m kind of nervous about setting my goals so high. That’s why I have a Plan B,” she admitted. “I don’t want to fail with my goal set so high. But, I really have this feeling in me that if I keep pushing myself and I keep getting better and I do everything that I’m supposed to do, possibly, it might happen. “That’s just a dream. It’s a goal.” Just in case that dream isn’t realized, Goocher’s back-up plan has already been set into motion.
”I went to Henderson camp and I got an offer from there. I was not expecting it at all,” she said. “We were scrimmaging and the coach was like, ‘Hey, do you want to come tour the school?’ I was like, ‘Uh, sure.’ How do you say no to that? After the camp she was like, ‘Hey, can I talk to you.?’ And, she offered me a scholarship. That was cool.”
Both girls suit up on weekends for the Slammers, which has players from Camden and Warren. They’ve competed in tournaments at Maumelle and Monroe.
“It’s usually every other weekend. It’s more of a collegiate … it’s more than high school because high school ball is usually not as competitive,” said Pullin, who also plays second base. “I’m doing pretty good. We got third the past two weekends and we got second the weekend before that.”
Goocher is playing in Searcy this weekend with the South Arkansas Intensity.
“If I’m not playing with the Slammers, because we usually have off-weekends, and if I’m not playing with the Slammers, I’ll pick up with another team,” she explained.
That’s a lot of softball. But, both girls have found time to squeeze in other sports.
Goocher went to a tennis camp this week and plans to try out for the team at Smackover.
“My goal for tennis is to get better hand-eye coordination for my hitting in softball and to get better footwork,” she said. “Tennis does look very fun and I can’t wait to learn more about it and get better at it.”
Pullin plans to play basketball for the Lady Bucks.
“I’m also playing basketball so that will help with my feet movement. I’ll gain muscle from that, also, because we do weights,” said Pullin. On the court, she said, “I like playing the wing but sometimes he puts me on the block.”
Both girls will be juniors when high school starts back up. But, it’s never too early to start preparing for their future. For them, summertime is serious time.
“Softball doesn’t ever stop,” said Goocher.
But, could it ever get old or tiring?
Pullin doesn’t think so.
“I love it that much,” she said. “There’s no way I can get burned out.”