North Carolina State University Athletics
Softball Plays Fall Ball Games
10/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Oct. 11, 2010
RALEIGH, N.C. -
NC State softball played its 2010 fall games this weekend during a trip to Huntington, W.Va., where the squad competed in two scrimmages against host Marshall.
Instead of participating in a fall tournament as the program has in years past, the Pack staff opted to take advantage of NC State’s fall break to initiate the freshmen and newcomers into a typical road trip prior to the beginning of the 2011 season.
“Going on the road for our fall games is an effective way to give the newcomers a glimpse of what the spring will be like,” explains head coach Lisa Navas. “Also, it gives the coaching staff a chance to put different players in different positions and enhance the competition going into winter workouts.”
In order to make the most of the break, the staff took the NC State squad through a series of team-bonding activities on Friday in order to bring the Wolfpack closer together. The main event for the day was the all-sports competition, where the squad was broken into teams to battle each other for overall athletic supremacy.
The matchups proved intense, as each team had to take on a putting contest, long jump, free throw shoot, jump rope, sack race, dizzy bat race, balance board and pie eating contest.
“Sometimes softball is taken a bit too seriously,” says Navas. “It’s still a game. Using the competitive games reminds the kids to have fun.”
On Saturday, the Wolfpack took on Marshall in a scrimmage double-header. The two games were a great opportunity for the coaching staff to try out different players in new positions, and see what each was able to do at the plate.
As is to be expected, there were both positive and negative things Wolfpack staff took from the weekend.
“Playing is an eye-opening experience for the players,” explains Navas. “They now see what we have to work on. I’m glad we have three weeks left to work.”
