Davis softball team a winner for inner-city sports programs this season.
In the background as Davis softball players swing at balls from the one pitching machine they’re fortunate to have is a New Jerseyan accent from coach Rob Madama.
He’s barking even louder than he normally does as they girls practice att Ketelsen Elementary School with the Near Northside neighborhood surrounding them.
The outfield grass isn’t mowed. There are just enough bats to go around. The matte purple helmets they use are a luxury Madama made sure they had when he took over early last year. Before this season, some helmets were oversized.
Davis — a school not enriched with winning sports programs — just celebrated its first-ever district championship in softball. Their prize in the bi-district playoffs Thursday is four-seeded Stratford — the team that beat Davis 19-0 in the bidistrict playoffs in 2015.
“I’m going to use last year’s score,” Madama said. “Hopefully they don’t see us coming.”
Nobody saw the Davis softball team coming this year. The team isn’t a stranger to the playoffs, but a 12-0 record to win the 20-5A title is a first.
Count it as a collective win for softball teams inside the beltway. In Davis’ case, it’s the innercity softball team trying to change the status quo, which is that baseball and softball is reserved for the suburbs, where players start much earlier.
Madama becoming the softball coach was pure happenstance with the previous one resigning for health reasons. He came to Davis as an assistant football and softball coach and a strength and conditioning coach. He coached his daughter through the select softball ranks. Madama had lofty goals as head coach.
“When I said we were going to win district, they looked at me like I had three heads,” he said.
Pure joy overcame sophomore Adriana Oviedo when the team won district. Senior pitcher Jodie Gonzales had the same sentiment.
“My heart just stopped,” Gonzales said. “I was like ‘This is real. It’s real.’ ”
Davis hasn’t won a softball playoff game since 2009. That’s the next step for Madama.
For now, a bridge to relevancy has been built for at least one inner-city softball program.
“I’m just looking forward to building this thing,” Madama said.