Scottsdale Community College’s softball team is already hard at work preparing for the upcoming season, which begins on the road at Central Arizona College on Feb. 15. 

Under second-year head coach Sabeana Romero, the Lady Artichokes are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 8-26 season. The team has welcomed first-year assistant coach Tatumn Porras to the staff, while the coaches are already taking stock of the squad’s strengths and areas that need improvement.

“The knowledge of the game, we brought in some (new) kids and we have four returning players. I think them just coming together and understanding the knowledge of the game has gone very well,” Romero said. “What we’ve struggled with is just kind of coming back from COVID-19 and not being able to get together as much as we probably normally would for precautionary reasons.

“But we’ve found a way, and I think we’re a lot closer (to each other) than when we started.” 

While Romero certainly hopes her team can produce wins on the field, she also hopes her athletes develop into difference-makers in their communities, and take away experiences that will serve them well for the rest of their lives.

“I want to prepare these student athletes to not only be great softball players, but to be great people of our community,” Romero said. “They had coaches that generally cared about their well-being. They weren’t just a player to us; they were a student athlete, but they were also a person. They are like our kids, and we make sure that our kids are getting to class on time, eating, drinking water.

“I hope they take away things not only on the softball field, but things off the field and the life lessons that they learned with their coaching staff.” 

The Lady Artichokes’ first home game is on March 12, when they take on Phoenix College at 12:00 local time.