Share: mail

PCC softball team has been exercising on Zoom, ever since the California Community College Athletic Association canceled spring sports. 

“Let’s lift, here we go,” said head coach Monica Tantlinger. 

The softball team has been meeting every week for 30-minutes. The workouts mainly consist of plyometrics such as lunges, squats, and leg lifts. Afterward, Tantlinger encouraged the team to either repeat the saved workout which is saved on Canvas or exercise on their own. Many of the softball players have been exercising alone and some have shared their workouts through social media.

Shortstop Danielle Ruiz always starts with the fundamentals of hitting the ball. It’s important for her to start with a muscle memory exercise. Her main focus is to make good contact and ensure that her technique can be repeated.

“With this drill, I have an open stance facing the net and I swing and drive my bat to force my hands to go outside the ball.”

Ruiz even goes to the length of creating an imbalance while hitting the ball. She’ll put a helmet under her foot and focus on her foot drive while swinging the bat. One day Ruiz will focus on hitting and on other occasions she’ll focus on her defense. Without teammates to practice with, Ruiz utilizes her backyard wall to focus on her glove and footwork. 

“That’s mainly where my footwork drills come in,” Ruiz said. “One drill, will I put about 5-8 balls in a straight line, but at a distance from each other, so I can work on quick feet on side shuffle and stay low.”

Ruiz isn’t the only softball player to make use of her wall. Third baseman Valley Febles practices with her throwing partner Olie. Olie just happens to be a pink cinderblock but she is reliable and never complains. Febles’ defensive routine was shared on Instagram by lancer softball

Pitcher Austyn Helmuth isn’t in the same position as the other infielders and outfielders. She can’t practice with a wall nor practice hitting off a tee. Luckily she has a friend who is a catcher at the University of La Verne. Helmuth can still practice social distancing and get in a good workout.

PCC softball team was 11-9 when the season abruptly ended due to the novel Coronavirus. The softball team is a registered class under Kinesiology or (KATH), so student-athletes are graded for their performance.

Follow: rssyoutubeinstagrammail

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.