McKenzie Bumgarner has grown up with the Heritage Academy fast-pitch softball program.
Along the way, there have been plenty of upgrades to the team’s field, including the installation of a new fence and a new scoreboard. This season, cement will be poured behind the brick backstop and around the concession stand to provide a better viewing environment for fans.
On the field, Heritage Academy also has seen its share of improvements. In 2014, the Lady Patriots advanced to the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) AAA State tournament. Last season, the team finished 16-9.
As a senior, Bumgarner has been there for all of it. She remembers the time when the team struggled to attract players. She also recalls a time when the program didn’t win many games, which also hurt its growth.
This season, though, Bumgarner sees a program that is growing. She needs only to look at the younger players who have joined the team as a sign that things are moving in the right direction. As one of the most experienced members of the team, Bumgarner feels she has a responsibility to ensure that growth continues.
“A lot of these girls are on their first or second season, so they’re going to need the encouragement even if they make mistakes,” Bumgarner said. “I think that is one of jobs to encourage the younger girls and the girls who only have been here for a couple of seasons. It is going to be different, but it is going to be good.”
One of the major differences for Heritage Academy this season will be its coach. Mickey Allen, who served as an assistant coach to Gary Harris for the last two seasons, takes over a program that has to find ways to replace the losses of graduated seniors Kaitlyn Oswalt, Macy Walters, and Brooklyn Waldrep and one that will look to six returning starters to help fill that void.
“They have been equally patient with me as I have been with them,” Allen said. “I knew 16 of the 20 girls from previous years. I remember when some of them were sixth- and seventh-graders. Now, they are 10th- and 11th-graders. They have come a long way. Some of these girls when we were coaching five years ago struggled with fielding a ground ball and throwing it and hitting your partner in the chest from 20 feet. Now, they are starting outfielders or infielders and they are doing great.”
Allen, who teaches health and sociology/psychology at Heritage Academy, has been at the school since 2012. He also has worked as an assistant coach for the baseball, football, and soccer teams.
Allen said the experience he gained working with baseball coach Bruce Branch, former football coach Barrett Donahoe, and Harris, will help ease the transition he faces being a first-year head coach for softball. He said the relationships he built with the softball players also will help in that area.
“It has been a challenge,” Allen said. “You’re used to coming to practice every day and doing what you’re told from your head coach. Now, the structure and coming up with the practice schedule is the challenging part. You take for granted being an assistant coach for so long that you show up and you do what the head coach asks of you. Now, I am thinking at night or during the day what we’re going to do before we get there and what we’re going to have to work on the most. That has been the challenging part. The more days we have done it, the easier it has gotten for me.”
Allen acknowledges it will be impossible “to replace” Oswalt, Walters, and Waldrep because they were “great leaders” and “three of the most productive players in the history of the program by far.” He said it will take time to make up for their experience in critical positions like pitcher and catcher, but he feels the team will be competitive because it returns plenty of players who saw significant playing time last season.
Allen said Sydney Adair, who beats him to the field sometimes, will take on a lot of the pitching duties, while Hayley Martin has moved in at catcher. Martin accepted the challenge of playing catcher for the first time. Allen said she hasn’t complained moving into a position that often isn’t glamorous and is doing a great job.
Allen will look to seniors Bumgarner (first base), Tyler Rhett (third base), and Blair Madison (utility) to help set the tone.
Macy Nordquist, a sophomore, has started since the sixth grade and also will play a key role.
Allen said the added experience the players have gotten in the offseason will help the program. He said there were only a few players who played travel ball when he first coached softball at Heritage Academy. Now, though, he said more than 50 percent of the players are involved with travel ball.
Upgrades to the facility also have pushed the program forward. In addition to new fencing and a new scoreboard that have been added in the last few years, Allen said an entry way is being built down the left-field line. The entrance will be similar to the entryway to the Heritage Academy baseball field but on a smaller scale. He also said the new cement around the backstop will help the facility have a more finished look.
“This place has come so far,” Allen said. “We are even trying to get a new wind screen that goes from foul pole to foul pole.”
Bumgarner sees the differences and appreciates the support. She also senses a different vibe on the team that she likes.
“It is a little different, but it is a good different,” Bumgarner said. “I can feel it is going to be different this year.”
Bumgarner agrees with Allen that it will be tough to replace Oswalt, Walters, and Waldrep, but she has confidence the team won’t take too big of a hit because everybody is working with each other and working on their our strengths and weaknesses.
Nordquist agrees. She said players are working harder because they want to be there and get better. She said wasn’t the case a few years ago.
“I want to see it change more and get better. I think most people do, too,” Nordquist said. “I think it will get better eventually.”
Nordquist is helping make that happen. Earlier this year, she played travel softball for the first time with a team called Fear, which is made up of players from New Hope, Caledonia, and Heritage Academy.
Players like Martin, a junior, also will help solidify the program. Martin has taken over at catcher after she stepped up when no one said they wanted to play the position. She is in her first year at catcher after playing first base and right field in her first two years on the team.
“It has been fun, but it has been hot and tiring,” Martin said. “I like it a lot more than what I expected.”
Martin said she expected catcher to be even harder, but she said she is working well with Adair to develop the relationship so they can think the same way in games. She said they are good friends, which should help them in their first year working as a battery.
Now that he has had his first taste of all of the things a head coach has to do behind the scenes, Allen said he has a new appreciation for the juggling acts head coaches have to do. He said he joked with Branch that coaching is only “20 percent” of the job description. Allen hopes all of those percentages — and the help of assistant coach Teri Martin — come together to make it a successful season.
“I like it. It has been fun,” Allen said. “I wouldn’t trade it. The girls are enjoying it, and I am enjoying it.”
Heritage Academy will play its season opener Aug. 1 against Oak Hill Academy. The team also will have a fish fry Aug. 25 to help raise funds for on-going construction at the facility.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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