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Coyotes expect bumpy start for softball program

STAFF WRITER

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DORA — For the first time in at least three decades Dora will field a softball team.

Without any recent history of a softball team, coach Paul Luscombe and his team know this season will definitely be a tough one regarding wins and losses. The good news is that all of the players are aware of that and have no problem putting in the work for future seasons.

“This is the first year we’ve had softball at the school since I believe 1975 or 1976,” Luscombe said.

“I’ve been involved with youth softball for eight years with everything from first grade through eighth grade girls. This is my first stint with high school athletics. They’re learning as I’m learning.”

The theme of this year for the Lady Coyotes will be fundamentals.

Staff photo: Matthew Asher

Head coach Paul Luscombe talks to his team during Wednesday’s practice. This will be the first time in at least three decades that Dora has had a softball team. Their first game will be against Santa Rosa this Monday.

“I want them to come out of every practice and leave better learning one skill,” he said. “We don’t have goals with wins and losses but these girls are competitive athletes. They’re used to being in that spotlight. This is a new learning curve for them. Our goal is to simply get better every time we come out on the field.”

Junior Daelynn Lee is one of those competitive athletes Luscombe talked about. She’s played both volleyball and basketball for Dora this season and is one of the nine players with previous softball experience. She knows her role on the team is to help with the foundation of the team for years to come.

“I played before in city leagues but a lot of these girls are new,” Lee said. “We’re pretty athletic. We’re all getting the hang of it pretty fast. We’re definitely learning quick. I say in about three years we’ll be a very hard team to beat.”

It’s not that Dora will be completely devoid of talent this season. Out of the 27 girls who make up both the varsity and junior varsity squads are nine players, five of them seniors, with experience playing softball on some level.

“I’ve got two girls who transferred from Portales junior varsity but those girls have a mandatory sit time,” Luscombe said. “They won’t be allowed to play varsity this year.”

The good news for the Lady Coyotes is they already have an idea of who their main pitchers will be.

“We have three girls who have been pitchers, which is a major building block,” he said. “Sophomore Kirsten Tapia and eighth-graders Allie Luscombe and Kimberly Rains have experience. That’s good because pitching can be the Achilles heel of teams.”

Luscombe may not care about wins and losses, but the players would like to see more of the former.

“Eunice is not that great so we’ll (have a chance to) beat them,” Lee said when asked about teams she’s looking forward to playing. “We’ll play along with Logan because this is only their second year playing softball, too.”

Without the pressure of instantly being a juggernaut on the diamond, Luscombe believes it will make it much easier to learn as the season progresses.

“This is a building year,” Luscombe said. “Everything we do this year is building for the future. We’ve talked to the girls about managing our expectations for the season, understanding the basics of what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. This year we have to worry about foundation work and that’s what we’re going to do.”

The Lady Coyotes’ first game of the season will be an away game against Santa Rosa on Monday with a 4 p.m. start.