Hornets reach deal with state; will remain until 2024
March 21, 2012
Brown scratches the surface
March 21, 2012
Vandebilt Catholic softball coach Margaret Johnson created one of the toughest schedules in Louisiana this year, saying she wanted to learn the “full truth” about her team.
So far, the truth hurts.
Vandebilt has a way to go if they want to return to their usual state championship form.
With less than a month to go in the season, the Lady Terriers were hard at work on the practice field this week trying to polish their craft before the playoffs – the time of the year where Vandebilt historically makes its push.
“We always try to schedule tough because good competition shows your weakness,” Johnson said. “Well guess what? We’ve been seeing a lot of weakness lately. … But we want to know our weakness, because when you do, you can go to practice every day and work on it. And that’s exactly what we’re doing right now.”
“We have a long way to go to get where we need to be,” senior shortstop Sarah Ourso said. “But we know that when we’re playing our best, we can beat anyone.”
The reason for Vandebilt’s early season struggles lie deeper than just a tough schedule.
The Lady Terriers are one of the younger teams in the Tri-parish area, having just a few seniors and even fewer players who returned with starting experience.
One of the team’s seniors, pitcher Leah Bergeron said the youth was a major factor in the team’s early struggles, which saw Vandebilt start with just a 1-4 record.
“We’re much younger this year than we normally are,” Bergeron said. “It was just something to get used to and something that was a problem for us. Our younger kids needed a few games to get some experience under their belt.”
“We have to learn to stay strong and play together for a full seven innings,” Ourso added.
Johnson acknowledged the team’s youth and admitted that it can partially be attributed to the team’s early struggles.
But she added that it’s not a crutch the team should use, adding that Vandebilt is more than capable of succeeding with its current roster.
“I don’t feel like this year’s team is the youngest that we’ve had in the history of Vandebilt,” Johnson said. “We have an incredibly talented group of kids here that we believe in. It’s when they fully believe in themselves that things will get better for us. We’re working hard. We just lack that belief and that confidence.”
The coach added that the Lady Terriers are being thrust into bad positions on the scoreboard due to that lack of confidence, stating that the team needs to play more loose the remainder of the season if they hope to make a playoff run.
Vandebilt was close in several of their pre-district losses, but faltered because of small slip ups – a process that the coach said started to weigh on the psyche of the young team.
“We need to, as coaches, get these kids to realize that just because you’ve lost a couple of games, it doesn’t mean that you’re a loser,” Johnson said. “I have confidence in these kids and it frustrates me when I see them make these mistakes – the mental errors in games because I know that it’s a mental breakdown.
“That comes with youth, yes, but I’ve seen these kids in practice and I know they can do it. If we can just bring that relaxed atmosphere of practice into a game, I think we’ll be very competitive.”
Even in the midst of youth and adversity, all is far from lost for the Lady Terriers – they are indeed becoming very competitive.
Vandebilt has been playing its best softball of the season in recent weeks and has tallied a perfect district record.
Both players and Johnson say they believe that trend will continue and the team’s best games are yet to be played.
“It’s a confidence thing,” Ourso said. “Since the younger kids have more confidence and stuff, I think we’re more calm on the field, which is helping us play better, too. … We’re approaching our peak. We just hope it’s at the right time.”
“This is not a bad group of kids,” Johnson said. “I’ve just had to throw them to the wolves. Kids have had to step up and it’s all just a confidence thing.
“But I can tell you for sure our confidence now is better than it was three weeks ago. If we can make another steady increase, then maybe in another three weeks, we’ll be a lot better off than we are today. That’s all as coaches that you can hope for – seeing an increase in their play and an increase in their confidence and I think we’re seeing that now.”
Peak or no peak, Vandebilt doesn’t really have a choice but to succeed. Winners of countless state championships, players say it’s the lifeblood of the program to turn things around and right the ship.
That’s exactly what they intend to do – build on last season’s playoff run that took the Lady Terriers to the Class 4A State Semifinals.
“It’s always pressure, because people will say, ‘Oh, they’re Vandebilt,’” Bergeron said. “And the winning and everything is what’s expected of us. Our challenge is to just try and live up to our own expectations and not everyone else’s. We just want to be the very best that we can be. We think that’s pretty good, too.”
“Everyone in this parish thinks that we’re just like inhumane or something,” Johnson said with a laugh. “But our kids are human beings. Basically, what I’m trying to tell our girls is that they are going to make the human error. It’s the mental errors that we’re trying to eliminate.
“If we can get to that point, we’ll be OK.”
Vandebilt Catholic senior pitcher Leah Bergeron tosses a pitch during a game last season.
