BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE

Over the last two school years the Varsity Lady Tigers athletic program has overshadowed the Varisty boys program.  In the 2007-2008 basketball season, the Lady Tigers won their first ever share of a conference title.  The spring of 2009 saw the emergence of the Lady Tigers softball team.  While they did not win a conference title they did win Regional and Sectional titles on their way to a 4^th place finish at the State tournament, the first ever for the softball program.  The success has Tiger fans looking to the future hoping for more championships and title runs.  The search for the future of the Lady Tigers begins with the Jr. High squad.

Second year coach Jessica Schwarzkopf is at the helm leading this year’s group of young talent.  She is assisted by Asst. Principal and former Varsity softball coach Bill Harris and his daughter, former Lady Tiger Varsity standout, Jessica Harris.  They both bring a wealth of knowledge and experience needed to prepare young players. The success of last spring’s varsity squad has generated a little excitement and has added to the numbers of this years squad.  I asked Coach Schwarzkopf how this team differs from last years team.  “It’s a big difference.  We lost a lot of girls to high school this year but we gained a lot of eighth graders who didn’t play last year.  That coupled with the seventh graders coming in makes it a totally different team.  And they’re not just new players, it’s a larger squad than last year too.”

The girls have been practicing a few weeks now and began their season August 12^th in the O’Fallon Jr. High Tournament.  The competition is tough opening the season against teams from Highland, Waterloo, Mascoutah and O’Fallon.  Are the girls ready for the challenge?   Coach Schwarzkopf said, “Most of the girls on this team have played Khoury League so they’re coming right out of summer league.  We do have a few girls who haven’t played before but for the most part the girls are experienced and know what to expect.”  What are Coach Schwarzkopf’s expectations?  “We hope to have a winning record.  But we also want to help them with their skills so that they can contribute at the High School level and continue the success of the Varsity teams.”

The girls on this year’s squad are Brooke Borden, Alexandria Brown, Kaitlyn Butler, Katie Chatelain, Cheyeanne Crippen, Racquel Dailey, Eryn Eldridge, Christa Leesman, Kaitlyn Massey, Elizabeth Miller, Jessica Nelson, Amber Nichols, Rachael Ostertag, Tabitha Putnam, Kara Shearer, Kayla Shearer and Bailey Tinker.