First-year Houston Lady Tigers softball coach Willy Walker considers himself a disciplinarian. His players have already found out just how strict he can be.
Following a simple baserunning drill the first day of practice, Walker made the team run a hill for each time someone had incorrectly touched the bag. He explained the drill again the following day and even showed them the correct footwork.
When seven players goofed again, it was back to the hill for the entire team.
“I told them what I wanted. No questions,” Walker said. “I wanted to get a point across. It’s the same as calling a squeeze bunt in a game. They better get the bat on the ball when I call it.”
Walker, who took over the reigns of the Houston softball program for Boulder McKinney, made it clear from the get-go that he would do things his way. He warned the players during the summer to expect changes, including the positions they played.
Walker said the entire team has been receptive to his approach.
“I was worried about that,” Walker said. “The girls are enthusiastic about the season. I haven’t heard one complaint about having to make changes or someone saying, ‘That’s not the way I had to do it before.'”
New leadership isn’t the only monumental change for the program. After playing their first three years of existence in the spring, the Lady Tigers will compete in the fall for the first time this season.
Houston opens its 2009 campaign Monday at Strafford before hosting Mountain Grove on Tuesday in the team’s first home game.
The move to the fall gives Houston the opportunity to compete in conference and district play for the first time. But the new season brought conflicts with other HHS sports teams. McKinney chose to continue as an assistant football coaching, leaving a vacancy that Walker filled. It also forced female athletes to chose between volleyball and softball, if they play both.
Walker had just 11 players on his roster when school began Tuesday morning.
“It doesn’t effect the way we play, as long as no one gets hurt,” Walker said of the roster size. “It does effect the way we practice because I may move outfielders to the infield and vice versa. I try to have everyone on the team able to master two or three positions.”
What the Lady Tigers lack in numbers they make up with experience. Houston has six seniors and seven players who started last spring for McKinney.
Among the returnees is speedster Bethany Korte, who led the Lady Tigers in most offensive categories last year. She’s being recruited by a small Missouri college, Walker said.
Hannah Pounds returns to the mound and Carmen Floyd, who started as a freshmen, is back in right field and will have the opportunity to pitch.
Then the infield shuffle begins. Lyndsay Tarrants moves from first base to catcher. Shelbi Moore slides from shortstop to second base. Tory Burgess replaces Moore at short, and Jessica Herndon has moved from second to third.
Senior Kyla Chambers will likely start at first base. Freshman Sadie Ashworth and Bailey Harrah are candidates in left field, and freshman Erika Kugler will play alongside Floyd in right.
“When I arrived during the summer, I told them to be prepared to play any position,” said Walker, a 1997 HHS graduate who the past two seasons has coached JV boys’ basketball. “I haven’t see any negative attitudes. They’ve been very receptive.”
Along with the position changes, Walker said he has made slight adjustments to players’ batting techniques. When he coached most of the roster on a summer league team, he stood behind home plate and took notes on the smallest details. He brings those notes to each practice.
“It’s little things – something as small as a player moving their knuckles when they bat,” Walker said.
Despite going undefeated with nearly the same team during the summer, Walker is hesitant to set expectations for his first season. He knows the competition will be tougher, and the Lady Tigers have had just one winning season in their first three years.
Although district assignments have not been released by MSHSAA, Houston would likely fit into a district that last year included Ava, Liberty, Logan-Rogersville, Marshfield, Mountain Grove and Salem.
Despite low numbers, Walker believes his team’s strong preseason, including volunteer work after practices, will carry over into the season.
“They all want to win,” Walker said. “The younger players see the upperclassmen wanting to stay and work. The work ethic is contagious.”
