It’s a bright and sunny day and a girl is up to bat. The ball is pitched and the girl swings with all her might. It’s knocked into the outfield and she starts sprinting. Zooming through first base, second, third, then slides into home plate for a home run!

  The Honeybee Softball Team is doing very well this spring season in hopes of bringing home a state title.

  The Honeybees have been working hard after school, preparing for their upcoming season.

  “We workout everyday after school from 4:00 until about 6:00 most days on the field,” softball coach Russ Mayes said. “We do a lot of our strength and conditioning during the class period.”

  Although the Honeybees are great athletes, they are always looking to improve.

  “I feel our main strength and weakness can be tied to the same thing,” Mayes said. “Our strength is the fact we have a lot of returners from last year’s successful team.  And our weakness, is though we have a lot of returners a lot of them are playing new positions.”

  There are many rewarding things that come with coaching, but there is also some tough challenges and one is keeping the team moving forward to continue working hard.

  “I think the biggest challenge in most sports is to keep the kids motivated over the course of the entire season,” Mayes said.  “Sometimes it gets to be a grind this time of year.”

  Since the drive is sometimes lacking, Mayes does little things to keep it light and fun.

  “We do team eats and other team building activities to help with motivation,” Mayes said.

  Coaching may be Mayes’s occupation, but he doesn’t just focus on the sport. He tries to improve himself and his team in other ways.

  “Though softball is my job and a huge passion for me, it doesn’t define who I am,” Mayes said. “I try to focus on being a good Christian husband and father.  I try to instill this in my team as well. Though we want to win on the field, victories off the field and in the classroom are just as important.”