In the spring of 2018, Ally Poggi-Li ‘20 and Lucy Barnum ‘20 decided to start a women’s softball team at LWHS to give girls a space to explore the game.
Poggi-Li and Barnum hosted an informational meeting this fall that over thirty women attended after communicating with Eliot Smith, and then explored options for fields and coaches. This spring the team will make its debut in black and gold with Poggi-Li and Barnum as captains. Practices are already underway and Barnum made it clear that the team hit the ground running, despite the fact few members have played before, by learning “how to run the bases, field grounders and how to field pop flies.”
Barnum started playing softball when she was in fifth grade, by joining her rec softball league. She played for four seasons and when she was a freshman she played on an Oakland based travel team. Poggi-Li’s dad plays softball and so when she was young she joined Little League softball for several years. She then moved onto the minor and then major league softball teams available to her, and then in eighth grade joined the Seniors team. After that Poggi-Li decided not to play for a travel team, but when she arrived at Lick was inspired to start a softball team because she noticed, “that in the spring there weren’t many spring sports for girls and I thought it would be good to add another option.”
Barnum was inspired by her experience playing softball in the east bay and when she came to Lick she, “didn’t want to play on a club team. After playing JV soccer freshman year I was inspired by the collaborative and friendly feel of Lick’s less competitive sports teams. Going in I wanted to find a way to play softball and I heard that the baseball team was not a good option for underclassmen and girls.” When asked about what the hardest part of starting the team was, Barnum answered, “convincing coach Smith that we had enough people because in order to get funding we had to convince him people would play.”
The team practices at Balboa Park under the careful coaching of Dee Orama, who started coaching eight years ago. Orama is incredibly passionate about the game and describes softball as being, “like therapy for me.” Orama has already been impressed with the team, commenting that, “they look ready to learn.” When asked about her hopes for the LWHS softball program, Orama says that in five years she hopes “to expand the program to both Varsity and JV teams. I’m hoping for lots of fun, growing, memories and wins!”
The team will be competing against University High School, the Bay School, the Urban School of San Francisco, and Pescadero High School. It is still unclear whether the team’s home field will be Balboa park or Crocker Amazon, but the season promises to be an exciting one as the Lick team will play eight games in a double round robin tournament and will even have the chance to go to the NCS semifinals and championship games.
The response to the creation of the team has been an overwhelmingly positive, and many players have weighed in offering heartfelt comments about the team. Serina Thompson ‘20 said that she is “most excited to try something new…on previous sports teams, I’ve been on I’ve really enjoyed the tight knit community and I am hoping that we’ll be able to create the same thing on the softball team.” When asked about what she hopes the softball team will add to the LWHS community Barnum answered that “I hope that the softball team will create a collaborative, fun-loving space for young women to be themselves and bond over our sport. Me and Ally’s goal was to build close relationships across grade levels and learn softball without a competitive, “win at all cost” mentality.”
Coach Smith also weighed in, praising the enthusiasm and commitment shown by the player. Describing the first softball meeting Smith said, “we showed up to the meeting and there were forty girls, so that was pretty impressive.” When Smith was asked about what he was most looking forward to this season he said, “I am excited that they get the opportunity to play a game they love, and go out there and participate. I’m excited for opportunities for more kids to play.”
Poggi-Li also pointed out that the softball team has created a new community for girls who do not want to play lacrosse but are still seeking an all-female sports environment saying that, “Other than lacrosse, there were no other spring sports for just girls, so I think softball will be a great option for girls who want to stay active.”
When asked about her goals for the season Poggi-Li emphasized her commitment to the development of the team, stating that, “As a captain, knowing our collective skill level, I want to make sure that everyone gets equal playing time because that is the only way we will be able to grow as a team.” Poggi-Li’s push for equal opportunities for growth was also echoed in her prioritization of fun. “There’s going to be a lot of players with little experience, so as a captain I of course want to prioritize fun along with trying to build ourselves as a team and individually.”
Meghan Rydel ‘20 is optimistic about the softball program’s future saying that in five years, “I hope to see a program that invites all people, whether they know how to play softball or not, to learn, play and enjoy the game with a supportive and enthusiastic group of people.”
