Under-12 Bobby Soxers go to nationals Under-12 Bobby Soxers go to nationals (August 04, 2000)

Nova steps up to bat at championships in Texas

By Leslie K. Martin

"Nova" means rising star, an appropriate name for a Mountain View girls' softball team with winning ways.

The 12-year-old-and-under (12U) fast-pitch team will compete in the Amateur Softball Association's (ASA) Class B Western National Championships, Aug. 8-13 in College Station, Texas.

Nova qualified for the national tournament by being one of two winning teams in the Metro tournament in Santa Clara County. Since Memorial Day, Nova has played 24 games, with a record of 17 wins and 7 losses, and will play a minimum of five games in the championships in Texas.

Manager Patti Millson and head coach Steve Hoo said that what separates their team from others is a strong foundation of support, a defensive strategy, and an emphasis on learning the fundamentals of softball.

In the two years the team has played together, the manager and five coaches (Millson, Hoo, Don Dougherty, Chuck Mulloy, Andrew Palmyra, and Stevan Nakashima) have nurtured a strong sense of communal support. Assistant coach Don Dougherty is proud of the team's cohesion.

"The girls really pull for each other," Dougherty said. "One of the kids was really struggling in a couple of tournaments at the plate. She struck out six, seven times in a row. She was disappointed, and everybody else could see she was disappointed. She got a double in one of the games and you should have seen--everybody on the bench was jumping up and down. It was terrific to see because they knew how much it meant to her."

Millson said that in competition with opposing teams who had the physical edge by being taller, the team has successfully used defense as its mainstay.

"When we played at San Luis Obispo, we came up against a team called the Twisters," Millson said. "They have an excellent pitcher, we have an excellent pitcher-- but we were making the plays. We won on defense because we didn't make any mistakes."

Hoo drills the girls in the basics of batting, pitching, and catching. "We teach the fundamentals of the game, the sportsmanship. We don't win at all costs, but we try to do our best to win and try to play everyone," he said.

Nova is one of four ASA Division B teams in Mountain View, which supports two 12U teams, one 14U team, and one 10U team.

Within the ASA, which has 1.2 million registered Junior Olympic players 18 years old or younger spread among 83,000 teams, players can register with A or B Division teams.

A Division teams can draw players from any source and often have rosters of 16 players. They have a longer playing season, and often travel from tournament to tournament, for which entry fees typically run between $2500 and $3000.

B Division teams, like Nova, are required to draw players from a single source. In Nova's case, the girls are culled from the Mountain View Bobby Soxers, and Nova coaches keep the roster down to 12 girls so that everyone gets a chance to play. B Division tournament fees typically run $150 to $300, and the Nova coaches try to select local tournaments to keep travel costs down.

To help the girls with the cost of attending the championship in Texas, the Mountain View City Council approved $1350 in travel money for the team on July 25.

The Mountain View Bobby Soxers play during the regular school year and have a multilevel program that progressively builds skills for children from as young as 5 years old. A girls' 8U All-Stars team of Bobby Soxers (see article in the July 28 issue) also recently qualified for their national competition in Southern California.

Millson believes it is the ongoing connection of softball with local families and community that fosters Nova's solid players. Nova almost feels like a family business: all six coaches are parents of players, and some got to know each other and their kids while helping with past Bobby Soxers teams. Three Nova members who had younger siblings on that All-Stars team missed practice in order to go and to cheer their sisters on.

Parent and family volunteering is an important contribution to the community environment. Millson said that when one team finishes tournament play, the other three teams and their families stay to support the teams yet to play.

"We've got a great group of parents who will do anything for the team," Millson said.

The Nova team roster this year includes Ashlee Choi, Brianna Dougherty, Stephani Erwin, Lauren Esteban, Dana Grolle, Mollie Hoo, Kristi Millson, Caitlin Mulloy, Kristina Nakashima, Alicia Olmos, Jessica Palmyra, and Ayla Pratt.