February2015
WCWS marks 25th anniversary
February 13, 2015
Plant City, FL
Teams must jell at the right time;
WCWS marks 25th anniversary
By Bill Plummer
Although the college softball season hasn't started yet, various
websites have predicted the top 20 or 25 teams for the 2015 season.
Their predictions are based on various background information including
returning players and incoming freshmen with some of them possibly
starting or making an impact their first year of college softball. This
is all speculation and who knows where the teams will finish when the
season concludes following the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma
City.
As we all know, alot can happen between the start of the season and the
end of the season. Injuries will occur, players will have hitting and
pitching slumps and players may not perform up to their ability. So alot
can happen and often does as more than 200 plus Division One teams
strive to be in the elite eight in Oklahoma City .
Some of the colleges in the northern climates will start their season
in warmer climates as you would imagine before the weather gets warmer
in their respective states.
While the eyes of the softball world fall on the sport from February
to early June, some of the most important developments come during the
fall training camp. It’s the first time that the team practices together
without the seniors who graduated and with the new faces in the form of
freshmen and transfers. While many of the pieces are the same from the
prior year, in reality it is a completely new team with a new dynamic.
How the team jells and what kind of dynamic it has will determine what
kind of year the team will face. If everything goes as hoped it could
be a special year, possibly even a berth in the College World Series. If
the team doesn't jell or come together, then it could be and often is a
long season with the anticipated good year long gone. It's frustration
to be sure, but the teams aren't going to quit because things aren't
working out.
Teams may jell earlier or hopefully late in the season when a conference
title or berth in the NCAA Championship on the line. That is why jelling
or coming together at the right time is important to what kind of
success the team will have. In some cases, however, the team may not
come together at all or jell at the appropriate time for whatever
reasons or reasons and that makes it a season of disappointment and
frustration.
Many coaches would want to their teams to improve as the season
progresses and jell at the right time and hopefully land a berth in the
Women's College World Series. This would be a good year to land in the
WCWS. Any year a team makes it to Oklahoma City is memorable but this
year is historic in the history of the event because 2015 marks the 25th
anniversary of the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. It's
the silver anniversary of an event that has captivated the interest of
thousands of college softball fans year in and year out and each year
holds the promise of crowning another national champion.
Will Florida repeat and become the first team to do so since Arizona in
2006 and 2007? Or will a team that has never won the national title
surprise the other seven teams in the World Series field? In reality, it
makes for another entertaining, exciting year for fans, players and coaches.
