By Jesse Sindelar | [email protected]

While the Corner Canyon softball team had a tough second-round exit in this year’s state playoffs after a pretty successful regular season, head coach Garrett Hone knows how good his team is.

“We were a really good team this year. We are starting to transition from the newbie school to a contender, and that’s a tough process,” said Hone.

The team started out with a hard preseason to get them ready, but that didn’t faze the team.

“Preseason was tough, but that was the expectation, and the girls took it in stride. All of the girls took a weightlifting class ran by the wrestling coach here. The girls took it seriously, and it paid off for the season,” Hone said.

After a hard start to the regular season schedule against some good teams, the team finished the regular season undefeated in region 11-0.

After crushing Olympus 11-1 in the first round of state, they were on the opposite end of the crushing, against Uintah in the second round, losing 10-1.

While their playoffs exit was a bitter end, Hone only saw the positives.

“You could see some nerves during the game, but the girls really fought (against Uintah), and they played well and hard against a good team. Uintah made the state finals this year, and this is the deepest we have ever gone in the tournament, so I’m very pleased,” Hone said.

For the team, the season was a time to shine for everyone, not just stars or starters.

“I have some good ball players, but overall, the team is really balanced with a good variety. It was interesting to see one player at a time step up and have their limelight,” Hone said.

Throughout the season, the team also participated in the Fallen Soldier program. Each player is matched up with the family of an armed forces soldier who has perished, and their name is then put on the back of their jersey for their entire Corner Canyon career.

“It makes me so proud to see all these girls so willing to do this program, and I hope to continue it as long as I am around,” Hone said.

For the future, Hone is excited to see what the team will do.

“We had a deep team, which is what allowed us to be competitive this year. This year was a good stepping stone to get that competitive, contending edge. We lost five seniors, three of which were starters. All of them were good leaders, but we have a good core of six returning players to build the team around,” Hone said.

Persevering through physical hardships, as well as supporting members of our armed forces, shows a clear maturity of the team. It looks like it will serve them well as athletes and as people. With a good core, and good character as a team, the future for the Corner Canyon softball team looks bright indeed.