Lady Vols look for stability
It's been a struggle building up the Starkville Academy softball program over the years, but coach Thomas Berkery is out to stabilize things.
The Lady Volunteers have gone through some lean years where numbers haven't been there to sustain success. Part of the issue could be attributed to the fact that soccer has been a popular and much more successful sport at the school and players are forced to choose between the two during the fall.
There's also been turnover in the coach staff and, while that hasn't disrupted the success of the soccer team, it hasn't allowed Starkville Academy to built a culture of expectations.
Berkery is setting out to change all of that.
He entered last season as a first-time high school baseball coach, but played the game most of his life, including in the Southeastern Conference and in the minor leagues. Softball was still fairly new to Berkery, but he adjusted quickly to get his team a handful of wins and set the foundation for his program moving forward.
“With softball, the small game is more significant and can be more effective,” Berkery said of the transition. “That was something that I had to adjust to. I had to find where the girls fit and what their strengths and weaknesses were. Now they know me and I know them. We should be able to get off to a faster start.”
After the first season, Berkery spent time around Mississippi State's softball staff and learned some of the nuances of the game – what worked and what didn't. While he was getting better at coaching the game, his players were working hard behind the scenes.
This offseason was the first in some time where the players and the coach have been able to take what they've learned from the season before and have a smooth transition into the next year.
“I certainly had a learning curve having to learn the ins and outs of the softball game,” Berkery said. “Along with that, our girls were able to play a modified schedule in the spring against some teams and get some extra repetitions un
der their belt. Our numbers are up this year with over 20 players and our older girls are going to carry our team.”
While it sounds like the train is getting ready to roll and the program begin to take the next step, Berkery is going to be presented with some challenges this season.
The Lady Vols were going to rely heavily on three players in the starting lineup that are either going to miss the entire season or most of it. The biggest loss is starting pitcher Anna Rae Taylor, who tore her anterior cruciate ligament in her knee and will miss all of the season. The same happened for starting shortstop Fallon Parker, who tore her ACL during basketball season.
Along with those two is starting catcher Austin Tucker, who will miss most of the year with a broken ankle. The practices over the next few weeks will determine who steps in and has to fill those roles.
For Berkery, who played sports at a high level, injuries just spell opportunities for other players to get a chance to prove themselves.
“We're going to be battling some injuries early just trying to find some girls at different spots and where they can fit best with our current situation,” Berkery said. “With anything, we're going to attack it and give these girls what they deserve.”
The season begins on July 31 and Starkville Academy will play non-conference games against teams like Kemper Academy and Hebron Christian with the usual head-to-head matchups with Heritage Academy and Winston Academy in District 2-AAA. East Rankin will be a new team added to the district this season and provides a different challenge for the Lady Vols.