Softball: New coach, same style at Rock Falls

There are lots of familiar names dotting the Rock Falls softball roster this spring, despite the fact that there’s only one senior on the team.

Among the new names sprinkled into the mix is that of the head coach.

Steve Giddings takes over for Kris Smith, who coached the Rockets from 2008 through last season. But he’s no stranger to the program: not only was his daughter, Jordan, a four-year varsity star pitcher and slugger during her high school career, but Steve has served as an assistant in the Rock Falls program since 2014.

After spending his first three years coaching at the fresh-soph level, he became Smith’s varsity assistant in 2017 and has held that role ever since.

“I wasn’t really thrown to the wolves right away, so I got some good experience and was able to learn as I went,” Giddings said. “It shouldn’t be any different. It’s tough to follow Kris, though, because she’s been here a long time, and I hope to continue the tradition.”

Softball has been a successful sport at Rock Falls, and it’s usually because the team is stocked with standout athletes who know how to win. This year is no different, and this group brings varsity experience despite being so young.

Juniors Brooke Howard, Abby Whiles, Jersey Thomas, Savanna Fritz, Zoe Morgan and Rylee Johnson all had spots in the starting lineup at times last year. Howard led the way from the leadoff spot as a second-team all-conference selection after hitting .411 and slugging .593, with a .476 on-base percentage and 20 runs scored.

Howard says that group is ready to lead the way after learning from the classes that came before them.

“We’ve had a lot of good leaders in the past, and even with this group, we still have some girls who are good at leading and helping the younger players through it all,” said the speedy shortstop. “I still think we’re a pretty young team, which is good for the next few years; we only have one senior. We just keep working hard in practice and getting ready to play games in two weeks.”

In the past, it’s been a balanced combination of pitching, defense and offense that has served Rock Falls well. The team has been able rely on any of those facets at any point in a game.

Howard sees more of the same this season.

“I think our defense for sure is really great. We have every position filled with somebody who knows what they’re doing. Hitting, too, we should be pretty good,” she said.

The Rockets are working hard on all three phases this preseason, even though they’ve been stuck indoors because of cold and inclement weather for most of their practices so far. But with the season opener set for March 19, and some nicer weather in the forecast for next week leading up to that game, they’re ready to get outside and get the season going.

“I feel like we’ve been working on both offense and defense a lot, and we’ve been doing really good,” Johnson said. “We’ve been getting a lot of swings in, and had some good practices. It’s going to be a great season.

“I’m definitely excited to get outside. We’ve been outside one time, and it was a lot better than being inside. We can work on a lot more things.”

Giddings is excited to see what his team can do when they get on the diamond. Knowing the strengths of most of his players already, he’s been impressed by how hard they’ve been working and what he’s seen so far in the drills and batting cage sessions.

The fact that the approach, mindset and game plan for his players will be the same under his guidance as it was with their previous coach has made the transition a smooth one, and he hopes it will show up when the games get going.

“We’re young, but we’ve still got experience, so we should be pretty good, I think,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot of the same. We’re going to be aggressive on the basepaths – I told the girls, if they can make it, go for it; if not, at least you took a chance. Same thing with hitting; we’re going to swing the bats. These girls in the cage have been hitting the ball hard, making great contact, so I think we’re going to be a good hitting team. Fielding-wise, too, everybody’s played their position and they’re comfortable. I think we’re good to go.”

Rock Falls will hit the ground running with tough slate to start the season: that March 19 opener is a road trip to Stillman Valley, followed by a home game March 22 against a strong Oregon squad, then a road trip to Princeton on March 24.