Change Bred Success for Warriors Softball Team

There’s plenty of credit to go around for the bounce-back season enjoyed by the Watchung Hills Regional High School softball team.

There’s the new coaching staff that immediately went to work on changing the losing culture and defeated attitude the Warriors had suffered with during the past few seasons; the group of seniors who sacrificed of themselves for the good of the team; and a group of young newcomers whose talent and exuberance helped revitalized a program that had been stagnant for half a decade and had barely managed one winning season in that span.

The 2011 Warriors were one of the biggest surprises in the Skyland Conference and in Somerset County, posting a 14-11 record and going to the semifinals of both the Somerset County and NJSIAA North 2 Group IV Tournaments before being nipped by juggernauts– a dramatic turn from the pair of six-win seasons Watchung Hills had slumbered through the previous two years.

CHANGES AT THE TOP
Michael D’Alessandro’s only experience with varsity softball prior to taking the helm at Watchung Hills this spring was watching his daughter Kristen’s standout career as a catcher for the Warriors until her graduation in 2004. But as a business teacher at WHRHS, D’Alessandro remained close enough to keep following the Warriors, and was well-aware of their recent struggles.

He also knew exactly where to begin when he and assistant coach, Jeff Dealaman, took over the reins.

“We could tell from the first meeting things would be different,” said senior four-year varsity player Grace Hurley, who will play for Drew University next season. “He told us, you had to be focused and you had to be part of the team. We could tell from the way he talked that his philosophies were way different than our previous coaches. We were definitely more upbeat and positive, and that had a lot to do with the change in coaching staff.”

“There was structure, finally,” senior three-year varsity center fielder Jamie Schoenbach said. “We obviously had the talent, but I guess we needed to know how to put it together, and that’s what Coach has been doing. The past couple years it’s kind of been more lax. It’s finally been put together as a strong program.”

It didn’t take long for the new attitude to breed success. Watchung Hills came firing out of the gate, winning nine of its first 11 games, with the only setbacks coming in close games to the two best teams in the conference -- 2-0 to Somerset County champion Hillsborough, and 2-1 to state Group IV finalist Hunterdon Central.

The run included wins over perennial conference powers Montgomery, Bridgewater-Raritan and North Hunterdon, and it was become clear that Watchung Hills was no longer the pushover it had been in recent seasons.

“It was the energy, it was the focus, it was that people were excited to be here,” Schoenbach said. “I think once we realized in the preseason that we were doing well, and in the beginning of the season that we were winning games, we knew we were really capable of doing this. It was a reality check and you could see it right away.”

“I am very proud of the girls,” D’Alessandro said. “They bought into what we were talking about at the beginning. A philosophy and a change in the way we were doing things. It was a whole new level of commitment. Some girls made some pretty big sacrifices, whether that be sitting more or changing positions, but every one of those 14 players bought into it and I’m very proud of them. I do feel like we’ve exceeded some expectations, but I can’t say I’m really surprised. I felt like we had this in us, I knew there was talent here, we just had to kind of change the attitude and the approach, and I think we did.”

THE SENIORS
For all the attitude adjustments, philosophical changes and newfound enthusiasm, perhaps the most dramatic and potentially traumatic change came with D’Alessandro’s approach to personnel.

The new coach believed just because a player was a senior, or had occupied a position or a spot in the starting lineup in previous seasons, that didn’t mean she would be in the same spot under his watch.

And while some seniors did not take it well and quit the team at various points during the pre and regular season, a core group not only remained, but embraced their new roles, and that sacrifice paid serious dividends.

“I definitely knew it was going to be a good idea because everybody working for their spot means that the best player will always be there,” said Hurley, who split time in the circle with sophomore Abby Cline instead of serving as the ace, as she had for the previous two seasons, playing first base the rest of the time. “If you have a bad game or if you’re in a slump, the next-best player will be there to back you up. I think most of time we were happy—we were winning—that we really have done anything to achieve the record we did this year and to achieve the how far we went in states and counties.”

 “I don’t blame them (the seniors who quit) at all, but I give a lot of credit to the kids that stuck it out for the season,” said Schoenbach, who was the lone senior to retain her fulltime position from the previous season. “Competition only makes you better, so you’ve got to know what you need to work on, how good you are, and I think it set a tone for everyone. Yeah, it’s heartbreaking for those who lost spots and are upset about not playing, but it only made the team better. And it’s a team game, so you’ve got to be all in it or not at all.”

Among those who stuck it out was senior Erin Furrer, who had served as the Warriors’ starting catcher the previous two years. This year, under D’Alessandro, and with the emergence of sophomore Dana Mertz, Furrer was relegated to the bench. But instead of abandoning the team or pouting on the bench, Furrer fully embraced her role, maintaining the enthusiasm, leadership and team-first attitude that had always endeared her to her teammates.

“I give the six seniors that we finished with tremendous credit, and I can’t say enough good things about Erin,” D’Alessandro said. “She embraced her role and decided, ‘Hey, if this was my role, I’m going to be the best I can at it.’ She was always willing to warm up pitchers, always willing to be the first one out there (with congratulations) when someone made a good play or scored a run. She’s really, really positive. You talk about a senior leader, I do think the girls see that and it gives them a whole new level of enthusiasm.”

THE YOUNG GUNS
While the seniors certainly set the tone, it was the underclassmen that injected new life into the once withered program.

Led by Mertz, who posted a .351 average and led the team with nine doubles, three home runs and 15 RBIs,  and freshman shortstop and Meghan Kovac (team-best .383 average with 15 runs scored), the youth certainly went wild and had a huge impact on the Warriors’ on-field success.

Cline, who saw some time pitching last season, really emerged as a legitimate varsity hurler, posting an 8-5 record with a 1.81 ERA and giving the Warriors’ another reliable arm in the circle to go with the veteran Hurley.

“I felt like we had young talent that would contribute,” D’Alessandro said. “The real challenge, I thought, was getting the chemistry between the kids that had been here and seen some of the lean years and these younger kids with talent fitting in and finding their spot. We kind of found our chemistry, for the most part. It was a very positive dugout and that helped us quite a bit.”

“They have such a good attitude and they want to be here,” Schoenbach said. “They want to be here, they want to work hard, they want to get better and they want the team to get better. And that’s only going to help them in the long run.”

TO 2012 AND BEYOND
Watchung Hills will lose three starting seniors in Hurley, Schoenbach and Ashley McKenna, as well as the leadership of Furrer, Sam Monteleon and Angelica Lieto.

Junior Tina Scolaro will be the only senior with varsity experience next season, and the fiery second-baseman is certainly equal to the leadership task.

Along with Mertz, Kovac and Cline, as well as freshmen McKayla Brady and Jess Gaeta, and sophomores Brianna Paltan and Brooke Nitti—all with a full year of varsity experience under their belts—things look very promising at Watchung Hills.

“They’re going to be a very, very strong and it’s going to be exciting to see,” Schoenbach said. “It’s upsetting that I won’t be here (as a player), but it will be fun to come back and watch them.”