The pressure of tradition of excellence starts to set in. With 33 back to back state tournament appearances and 17 state championships Monarch Softball begins soon.

As the girls get ready for season, they prepare for number 34 and 18. With strong team chemistry, great depth and all the fun traditions they get to do, they are ready to carry on the legacy. 

All summer long, the girls have optional open fields where they get to practice with one another to start to build chemistry. On Aug. 11, the first day of fall sports starts. With only a week to prepare for the first game, the team works through the final preparations. 

“The dynamic of the team and how close we are to each other,” senior varsity starter Maizey Carpenter said. “Our depth is one thing that makes us good.”

Monarch softball has the reputation of being a tough opponent; however, each new season brings a brand new team which can be a hard adjustment. 

“Every team is obviously different,” junior varsity starter Alexa Taylor said. “We will have our ups and downs, but we will be able to compete well.” 

Preseason means a lot of practice before any games. Practices hold just as much importance as games, if not more. 

“We work hard,” Carpenter said. “And when we do bad in a game, we focus on that in practice to fix it.” 

Finding out what strengths the team has before games is very important. They find this out through practices and scrimmages against each other. 

“We are very good at running,” Taylor said. “We definitely can hit right now.”

Different strengths are important to have as well. Each player brings something different that helps the team be strong. 

“I would say our closeness,” Carpenter said. “We have good depth as I said so that helps too.”

Although softball is taken very seriously here, the girls like to have fun with their different traditions. There are many they do, but there is always one winner amongst the girls. 

“TP 100%,” Taylor said. “That’s the best part.”

Carpenter agreed and is also excited for this tradition to take place this season. 

As Monarch softball prepares for the opening of another season, the program will keep up with the tradition of excellence with their team chemistry, depth and all the fun-hearted traditions that tie them all together.