Preslee Graham/Maverick Media
Aubrey Martinez is one of Memorial's key softball players this season.
The Memorial softball team is ready to start this season strong as it gets ready for Tuesday’s opener at Boyd.
The Memorial Messenger sat down with softball coach Kylie Miller to discuss her expectations and hopes for their first season.
Q: How hard have the girls been practicing for this season?
A: They’ve been working really hard. They’ve been putting in a lot of work in the offseason. We were having 6 a.m. lifts. We’ve been having a lot of practices. We have been practicing with no complaints, working really hard, getting a lot better.
Q: Do you think the team is ready for the first season?
A: Yes, I think they’ve done a great job creating a team bond, coming from different schools and working hard, and I think we are ready.
Q: What are your expectations for the first season of Memorial softball?
A: I always set high expectations. I think that that’s kind of the goal to always set high goals and, the higher you set them, the higher you’ll fall.
Q: What are some of the games you are most looking forward to?
A: We have an awesome tournament coming up in Carrollton. Playing some pretty good teams. Our district seems really good. Abilene Wylie’s in our district. Always a good team. I’m kind of excited to see how that goes and see how we face them and then, of course, seeing where we are. Also how we do in the playoffs, because that’s our expectation to make playoffs.
Q: Who are some key players this season?
A: We are a team full of seniors, we have an awesome third baseman, Ella Dawson. We have Aubrey Martinez in the circle. We have a really great junior shortstop, Olivia Vanderberg. We kind of have an old team, but that kind of works out really well for us. You know, they’re seasoned players. They have high expectations for themselves. They want to go out with the bang their senior year.
Q: What are the team’s strengths?
A: I think we’re a great defensive team. I think that we get good jumps on the ball, we work really hard, we have a lot of fun and we communicate. I would say that’s a great strength of ours right now and basically how excited you are for the first season.
Q: Is it exciting that this is the first softball season of Memorial High School?
A: It’s super exciting for our first year. I’m ecstatic, a little bit nervous, but I’m really excited to see how hard these girls are going to work and what we can accomplish. We have high standards and high goals and I’m kind of excited to see how hard they are willing to work as the season goes on.