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08/15/2023 07:48 AMAcross the towns of Deep River, Essex, and Chester, along with some fellow colleagues from a neighboring town, the game of softball was burgeoning amongst some youngsters this summer–enabling a great swarm of passion and pride for players and coaches.
For Essex-Chester-Deep River 10-U softball, the league sported two teams during the regular season in the Storm and the Lightning. Each team had a 14 player roster, with kids that were from Chester, Deep River, and Essex, and they also took on four girls from Old Saybrook who needed a team to play on, since they didn’t have enough to field a full team. The Old Saybrook quartet all played on the Lightning.
The Storm were coached by Allison Harp and finished 8-3-1 in the regular campaign. Joining Harp in the dugout were Nina Merrill and Brian Ouellette. For the Lightning, with Head Coach Nikki Poulard and assistant coaches Allison Nicklous and Alicia Carroll, they finished 4-8.
“We had a great group of kids, with a mix of kids who have played softball for a few years, all the way to girls who had never played organized softball before this season,” said Harp. “They very quickly created friendships and became amazing teammates; it was awesome to see.”
Harp additionally honed in on the fact that the girls got a chance to get a very early education into the great game in the field, while learning essential building blocks around the benefits of camaraderie and teamwork. These are skills that will only bode quite well for them as they move towards playing on school squads in the future.
“I think it’s great that the girls are getting a chance to play together this young, and that it is starting to create the bonds and team mentality that they will continue to strengthen and use as they go into middle school and high school together,” said Harp.
She went on to pump up and praise the kids, and also the parents, for adhering to the tenets of the teams and helping to foster a tremendous atmosphere around the clubhouse, the field, and even in the stands that encouraged the girls to grow.
“Both of our teams encouraged similar foundations of having good sportsmanship, and being a team player at all times, which the players and parents really embodied and it definitely made our teams and league proud with the way they conducted themselves all season,” said Harp.
As for the postseason and fusing players from the two clubs together, Harp was the manager of the All-Stars team, and her assistant coaches were Brian Ouellette and Nikki Poulard. It marked the first time in years that the league sent a team to the tournament, and it was definitely a learning experience for everyone, but also a positive one.
She additionally recalled that while the girls from the two teams had to take time to properly mix together, they powered through the feeling out process and stuck together through the ups and downs of postseason play.
“Our record was 0-6, but that definitely doesn’t show the grit and determination the girls had or the effort they put into every game. It was rough to lose all of our games, but at the end of each game, they were all still having fun and loving the sport,” said Harp. “It is not easy for girls coming from two different teams to come together and play seamlessly, so it was a little bumpy at first, but we made it through. We played against some very difficult opponents, one of which made it through the regional tournament. These girls showed such amazing sportsmanship and determination; it is amazing to watch!”
In closing, Harp remarked that as she would love to see the girls stay sharp on their fundamentals of the sport in the offseason, she is certain that the strides made by the program and its squads will pale in comparison to the road ahead.
“We hope that next season these girls will continue to improve and fine tune their skills, so that we can have another successful season next year,” Harp said.
The roster for the All-Stars team included Lucille Larson, Quinn Morris, Ellianna Poulard, Roary Labert, Jayda Harp, Sadie Cohen, Aver Bachand, Everly Morrow, Mae Calandruccio, Ivy Bauer, Riley Merrill, Hannah Ouelette, and Kaiya Poulard.