Harrisburg softball looks to build a tradition of success by ending the season with a state championship
HARRISBURG, S.D. (BVM) — Since the start of the season, the Harrisburg Tigers have been ranked No. 1 in Class AA softball.
Harrisburg was undefeated up until Monday when it was swept by Sioux Falls Roosevelt. The 19-2 Tigers will still enter the conference tournament on Saturday as one of the favorites to win.
鈥淭he greatest thing about this program is the culture and the climate that we鈥檙e really focusing on,鈥� Harrisburg head coach Toby Bryant said.聽
When Bryant was named the head coach back in January, he immediately got to work preparing for the fall season.
鈥淲e came into a program that鈥檚 kind of up and coming,鈥� Bryant said. 鈥淲e knew we had the players and the skill, we just had to come together and play clean softball. We鈥檝e done that to this point.鈥�
The success Harrisburg has had is a long time coming. Just four years ago, the Tigers were in Class B and struggling to field a team. They have since moved up to Class A and this year had 76 girls try out for softball this season.聽聽
The Tigers have stepped up and have forced their way into contention for a state championship in a competitive Class A division.
鈥淲e鈥檙e kind of the new kid on the block,鈥� Bryant said.聽
They have a target on their back as the new kids and there are also questions of whether they are true contenders. For Bryant, the moment he realized they were ready to truly contend for a state championship was early this season against the reigning state champions.聽
Harrisburg was down, 5-1, in the fourth inning to Sioux Falls Lincoln. Then the Tigers rallied, scoring eight unanswered runs to beat the Patriots, 9-5.
鈥淥ur dugout really took over with the energy,鈥� Bryant said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where the culture of the dugout really helped us make a transition.鈥�
The culture that helped fuel the 罢颈驳别谤蝉鈥� rally is something that Bryant has been working on since Day One of being head coach. After being hired, he reached out to his five seniors and began to talk to them about a mentality of 鈥減laying for the senior class鈥� and starting a tradition for Harrisburg softball. This involves the seniors interacting with the middle school players and the underclassmen and pushing those younger players to keep pushing the competitive level of the program.聽
Through this coaching up of leadership and culture, the Tigers have been able to succeed greatly and are now ready to take that next step as a program.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of funny people think sports sometimes just show up with a bucket of balls and a bat and start hitting balls at kids,鈥� Bryant said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 maybe 30% of the time you put in the other 70% of the time is leadership, mending and molding. Allowing them to fail and pick them up when they鈥檙e down and break them down when they need it. 鈥� It鈥檚 a great process, it鈥檚 what I am, it鈥檚 who I am and it鈥檚 what our program is going to be about. I鈥檓 just blessed to be a part of it.鈥�
They are still in the beginning stages of that process, but it has already paid dividends. The Tigers are having a season that will build the foundation for the growth of the program. With the conference tournament and state championship coming, they will work to add banners to that foundation.
鈥淲e keep stressing the culture,鈥� Bryant said. 鈥淲e keep stressing the tradition. We don鈥檛 have a tradition here, we’re starting a tradition and talk is cheap until you have the tradition set. We have some schools around us that have had more time and have traditionally got banners on the wall. 鈥� We don鈥檛 have that. This is the first set of players that are putting a flag in the ground and saying, 鈥楾his is Tiger softball.鈥欌��
