Written and Media by Caleb Miles.
#22Strong
It’s on shirts, Facebook, and Twitter. It’s the theme of this year’s Greenville College Softball team. Buddy Foster, the new head coach, commented on what the motto means to them:
#22Strong comes from the idea that if all 19 players and three coaches work together, we can achieve all of our goals. If we have one person not on the same page, it can sidetrack the team.”
One of the obvious goals of this year’s team is to once again be conference champs in the NCAA Tournament.
With 19 players and three coaches working towards a common goal, the sky is the limit, right? There are 12 returners from the previous year, a new freshman, and several transfer juniors bringing in collegiate softball experience. Coach Foster is big on team. He proclaimed,
I coach a team, not individuals.”
Foster does not believe in giving star players special treatment:
All 19 of my players have the same responsibilities on and off the field. I hold them accountable and ask that they hold one another to equal standards.”
It’s important for the group of individuals to come together as one unit to achieve the goals of #22Strong.
The team is coming off a record setting season after receiving an NCAA Tournament berth and winning the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for the first time in school history. The team is hoping the new motto will help carry their momentum from last season into this season. The success of #22Strong rests with the coaches in clearly relaying the meaning of this phrase and leading by example:
We coach our players with respect and push them to be better on and off the field.”
Coach Foster’s closing words are this:
At the end of the day, our reward is chasing the dream of excellence together. Win or lose, we will be #22Strong.”
Don’t forget to go online and check out the schedule so you can make it out to the softball games this year! The defending conference champs love to see support from students and fans in the stands. After all, you won’t want to miss seeing their motto put into action on the field!
#22Strong
