Choctaw adds slowpitch softball to increase competition
CHOCTAW — Lindsey Mudgett benefitted from slowpitch softball in her high school days, and she wanted that for her current softball players.
It just took four years to get that opportunity.
Choctaw High School is playing slowpitch softball for the first time this-spring with the goal to use it as a building block for fastpitch season.
It’s also a positive sign from the administration in a time where some school districts have done away with the sport as budgets dwindle.
“We agreed that it would be something that is competitive and not something like a blowoff, fun-and-game sport where it kinda almost makes a bad name for itself,” said Mudgett, the Yellowjackets' coach. “We knew that we wanted it for the right reasons and to give us another opportunity to bring home another title.”
Choctaw enters this weekend’s Big Cat Classic at Southmoore winless in two games, but Mudgett said her team was competitive.
That’s all she’s asked for while also pushing her fastpitch players to participate.
“At first, I don’t think a lot of people were wanting to do it as much,” said Choctaw senior Jamie White, a Nebraska-Omaha signee for fastpitch. “Once we got into it, we realized it’s more fun than anyone expected. We’ve gotten into the groove of it.”
Mudgett has experience with the sport.
A star at Davenport, she helped win four state titles in the spring. It also never bothered her swing, which helped lead her to a successful career at Oklahoma.
“A big reason why I wanted to was because of how much better slowpitch in return makes your fastpitch program,” Mudgett said. “If you look at all of the big programs that are successful in fastpitch, the majority of them, if not all of them, have slowpitch. I think that speaks a lot in itself.”
And Mudgett gets to keep her team together longer.
She always hated not coaching her players after October until the summer. Now, they all get more competition together.
“There’s nothing that can replace competition,” Mudgett said. “You can practice all day long, but there’s nothing like competing.”