Polson softball continues to flourish in recent tourneys
POLSON PURPLE Rain Kallie Finkbeiner slides safely into third as the Rain defeated the Thunder in his early Sunday morning game. (photo courtesy of Bob Gunderson)
POLSON PURPLE Rain Ashlynn DePoe pitched the 14U Polson Lakers to a victory over the Electric City Heat Sunday in Great Falls. (photo courtesy of Bob Gunderson)
Polson softball coach Jamie Hanson has continued to see progress in all phases of the Lady Pirates softball program.
The program, which starts at 8U to the 16, 18U teams, continues to work on the main focal point in the post-Larry Smith era, reconstructing the Pirates’ softball dynasty.
“So far they are doing well, and last weekend was a little bit of a tough tournament,” Hanson said. “We were missing one of our top pitchers, but we had another pitcher that stepped up to throw well this weekend.”
Kobbey Smith was just another Pirate that bought into the ‘next man up’ philosophical approach and succeeded.
“We made some mistakes, and now we have to fix them and work on what is needed for the weekend for the summertime,” Hanson said. “We will be working on these things. That is something that we learn now, and it benefits us down the road.”
Hanson continues to mix up positions and tries to get players experience in multiple spots, as the Lady Pirates’ softball organization steadily progresses through the season.
“We have tried some different positions, and by all means, all of the girls are putting in some time, especially on the weekend,” Hanson said. “We are getting some added experience. We are starting to put in some younger girls who are putting in good time as well in the 14-U, and I believe the 10-U and 12-U were in the gold bracket on the weekend. We are just getting a ton of game experience and improving.”
In three weeks, the Polson teams will all be playing in the postseason, and are currently working on finalizing defensive schemes, according to Hanson.
“Our biggest (point of emphasis) is that we would like to get louder vocally, and not just talk about being louder on the field where everyone knows where they are throwing before the pitch anticipation.”
Hanson is still working on the team’s refining their fundamental mechanics.
“I will see that in the next few tournaments what we need to do to finalize and wrap up the regular and summer season before we prepare for the following season. That is where we have to start now and keep moving forward.”
Right now, Hanson and his cabinet of coaches are working on developing the technical nuances of the game of softball as they prepare to head into the final stretch of the season.
Polson softball will travel to tournaments in Frenchtown and Kalispell, before entering in the state tournament in Missoula as the Polson softball team’s move forward.