For the first time in a decade, Emery/Weiner has an upper school softball team.
The middle school has now had a softball team for the last few years, but the sport had yet to make its way into the upper school. Interested students either had to find outside of school opportunities or remain uninvolved. Now that we have more interest and an experienced pitcher, something Emery has been missing for awhile, the team has been reborn.
Donna Lane, the team’s coach, spent many years dedicated to softball when she was younger and recalls being told that “softball was not a real sport.” Back when she attended I. Weiner, as just a middle school, there was not enough interest or support to field a team. Lane believes that now with “enough interest and a pitcher, it is so exciting to enter Emery into the softball world.”
Since the team is still in early development, they did not compete in the TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) district this season, instead scheduling ten games with various schools across the Houston area. With three wins and five losses — as two of their games were unfortunately cancelled — Lane believes the team should “be proud,” especially given how “little experience” and “little practice” the team had this season. With three teams school-wide and so little field availability, the team struggled with having the space and time to practice, and Lane is excited to see what is possible when the new indoor sports facility opens in the fall of 2025.
This year, the team contains players with varying levels of experience. Some players had no experience upon joining while others have dedicated several years to the game. Gabbi Zanger, a junior on the team, notes the team had “no seniors, two people who play currently, a few people who have played before and a couple of people, including myself, who have never touched a bat before this season.”
Lane comments that it was “interesting to watch newcomers,” those like Zanger, “learn a really tough game.” She expressed excitement that she was able to “[bring] the joy of softball to so many who hadn’t played in years and to so many who had never even touched a ball.”
In a game against First Baptist Christian, Lane believes saw the team’s progress in action. In just three innings, Lane rotated three different players through the second baseman position. Each player, fighting for the win, made an out that, according to Lane, “influenced the successful outcome of the game. She believes that if that game had taken place only two months prior, the players might not have made the well-thought-out, successful plays they did. Lane says, “It was a proud moment for me to see the progression.” It was through the team’s dedication to progress and Lane’s guidance that they scored these wins in only their first full season, not only showing success on scoreboards, but in personal growth and confidence in the game.
Zanger too has noticed the team’s progress, saying, “I feel like the team’s made quite a bit of progress because I’ve seen my own.” She recalls her experience in her first few games where she “couldn’t bat at all and could not … make it on base.” At the team’s second-to-last game, she was excited to note her progress, saying, “I made a run, which I thought was really cool.”
The team’s camaraderie and spirit allowed for this progress. Zanger says, “This team and the team culture is so positive and inviting, and it’s nice to see that the comeback of this program is open to all levels of ability.” Lane also notes that “everyone was supportive.”
Without judgement, the team was able to thrive and make mistakes in order to strive for more. Zanger further echoes this notion: “The focus was not on all of my deficits … but on what I did right. I think most of my time batting were strikeouts and much of my time in left or right field was the ball getting behind me, but it was about how close I was to getting a hit or catching a ball. It was incredibly supportive.”
The team has progressed so much over their short season, but there is still more to come. Lane hopes to see the upper school softball team establish a good reputation and a winning tradition. She acknowledges that “the winning part may take a few years,” but for now, Emery can work to establish that strong program through gaining confidence and security as a team.
It is not always easy to start something, building it from the ground up. And Emery’s upper school softball team is no exception. But the team has worked endlessly this season to build a foundation for the future, carving a path for what will hopefully become years of high school softball. With the season at a close, it is time to start looking ahead to next year. Upper school softball has only just begun, and with all the progress already underway, the team and Lane are excited to establish a team that “will allow Emery athletes to excel and gain confidence.”
