By Phil Gibson
Coaches and players at Clay-Chalkville High School have been hard at work getting ready for the 2013 baseball and softball seasons. Head baseball coach Brandon Johnson and first-year head softball coach Paige Jones are dealing with new situations.
“We’re going to be a little bit different kind of team from last year,” Johnson said. “We graduated a big senior class, and those seniors all had great years.”
There are, however, some important parallels between this baseball team and last year’s edition.
“Looking back, you know, a lot of those guys, it was the first time they had really played at that varsity level,” Johnson said, comparing his current players to those from last year
. “We’ve got a lot of guys now who are going to be playing at that varsity level for the first time. Sometimes you really don’t know until you get out there.”
For Jones, having a young roster is more of a challenge because of changes she brings to the team.
“There are a lot of challenges,” Jones said. “The first is getting kids to buy in to what I’m trying to teach, because I’ve changed everything that they’re doing. That’s the first challenge, really.”
Another challenge for a new coach is a lack of experience playing against teams in the area.
“It’s hard for me to gauge how good we’re going to be because I really don’t know that much about our competition,” Jones said. “I’m from this area, but this is my first year back.”
Jones will be counting on three seniors — pitcher Nicole Reaves, catcher Regina Richey and outfielder Jamecia Patton to set the tone for a team dominated by younger players. Jones wants to move her team toward a more offensive-minded approach.
“Eventually I want us to be a really aggressive team offensively,” Jones said. “We’re not there yet but because we haven’t learned all the things we need to learn yet, but that’s eventually where I want to get to — high intensity offense, take a lot of bases, run a lot of plays.”
The baseball team will be relying heavily on its defense.
“We like our team,” Johnson said. “Defensively, we feel like this team has a chance to be the best we’ve had. We like our defense, and we like our depth.”
Near the top of that depth chart are a pair of players at key defensive positions. The Cougars will be counting on their experience on the field.
“Hayden Moore (junior) played in just about every game at third for us,” Johnson said. “He is going to move between third and (shortstop) for us this year.”
Joining Moore will be senior catcher Michael Rodda, who gives the Cougars vital experience behind the plate.
“[He’s] caught a lot for us,” Johnson said. “We feel great about him as far as blocking and receiving. He’s a very accurate thrower, so we feel good.”
The baseball team opens its season Monday against Smiths Station and Auburn. Games are at 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. The softball team opens the season Tuesday at Pinson Valley at 5 p.m.