Lynn Burke
04-11-2007, 06:23 AM
Warwick: A team on the rise
By Dave Johnson | djohnson@dailypress.com
NEWPORT NEWS -- On a sunny but brisk afternoon nearly two weeks ago, Warwick softball coach Jimmy Dawson found himself being heckled by some Denbigh fans who believed he was running up the score. After all, the Raiders still were "working hard," as Dawson likes to say, with a 13-run lead in the seventh inning.
But the irony couldn't have been lost on anybody familiar with this program's history. Not that long ago, Warwick softball wasn't capable of running up the score on anybody.
Now, with a different coaching staff and level of commitment, the Raiders are tied for first place in the Peninsula District.
"I just call it the work ethic," said Dawson, now in his third season as the varsity head coach. "We meet the girls here every day at 2 o'clock and we work. It's a total team package. We've put in discipline and team rules."
Of course, you can't win without players ... and the Raiders (6-2, 6-1 Peninsula District) have players. Dawson's first season in 2005 coincided with the arrival of a freshman class that included his daughter, Chelsea, and pitchers Sarah Atkins and Travonna Byrd. The three had played Little League together under Dawson. Today, along with classmate Va King (a transfer from Smithfield), they're the core of the team.
With players like Katie Conlon and Liz Yohn already in place, Warwick improved from 6-12 in 2004 to 16-2 (18-5 overall) in '05. The Raiders made the Eastern Region playoffs that season for the first time since ... well, nobody's really sure. After going 36-74 from 1999-2004, Warwick is 39-11 since Dawson took over.
"The biggest turnaround for that program is the addition of Atkins and Byrd," Woodside coach Mike Tallon said. "Prior to that, they never had any real solid pitching. Now, they have two quality pitchers. That's almost instant turnaround because in softball, about 80 percent of it is pitching."
Atkins is 22-7 in her career; Byrd is 17-4. Each has an ERA below 1.00. When one is pitching, the other is playing second base. Atkins is batting .423 with a team-high 12 RBI from the No. 3 spot in the lineup. Byrd is hitting .435 from the leadoff spot and has scored a team-high 13 runs.
"The two of them," King said, "they're so explosive."
"We're double trouble," Byrd said. "The dynamic duo."
They don't do it alone. Junior right fielder Tierra Gostomski is hitting .357, and freshman shortstop Alex Ward is at .375. King and senior third baseman Ashley Trumble each are batting a steady .273.
The Raiders began the season by pounding Menchville, the very team that ended their season last year in the district semifinals. Then came back-to-back losses to Great Bridge and Gloucester, and then came five straight wins - by a combined score of 42-4 - heading into spring break.
Before Dawson took over, it wasn't like this. Records are hard to come by in high school softball, but Warwick hadn't had a winning season since at least the mid-1990s.
Dawson and assistants Jeff Gray and Bill Lucy instilled a no-nonsense approach that was a direct contrast to what the girls had become used to. Atkins and Byrd, who along with King and Ward also play Amateur Softball Association ball, brought a level of talent the program hadn't seen in years.
"The coaching staff made a big difference, and I feel that's why (Warwick) has become so great in the recent years," said Yohn, an '06 Warwick grad who is now a freshman at William and Mary. "Dawson and Gray approached the team almost like a good cop-bad cop scenario. Dawson is very much a conqueror and aggressive leader, while Gray takes a mentor's approach to coaching.
"When they first got to Warwick, they had some difficult challenges. First and foremost, us. We were rather attached to our former coach (Patricia Skaggs) and didn't want the change. They were men, we were teenage girls with all sorts of drama and hormones, and we were used to a female coaching staff. We had to spend a bit of time adjusting to personalities."
Dawson knew he had to change the team attitude, which had become fairly laid-back over the years.
The owner of a lawn-care service, he spruced up the field at Riverside Elementary, turning it into one of the best surfaces in the district. He instructed his players to wear team practice shirts every day to build up spirit and commitment. He made them run.
"Our coaches have made a big difference in discipline," Atkins said. "We do a lot of training and it's made a big influence on us."
Dawson said the recipe has been pretty simple.
"I'm no softball guru," he said. "But we have a hard work ethic and we expect, in the end, the players to develop and do the job." «
By Dave Johnson | djohnson@dailypress.com
NEWPORT NEWS -- On a sunny but brisk afternoon nearly two weeks ago, Warwick softball coach Jimmy Dawson found himself being heckled by some Denbigh fans who believed he was running up the score. After all, the Raiders still were "working hard," as Dawson likes to say, with a 13-run lead in the seventh inning.
But the irony couldn't have been lost on anybody familiar with this program's history. Not that long ago, Warwick softball wasn't capable of running up the score on anybody.
Now, with a different coaching staff and level of commitment, the Raiders are tied for first place in the Peninsula District.
"I just call it the work ethic," said Dawson, now in his third season as the varsity head coach. "We meet the girls here every day at 2 o'clock and we work. It's a total team package. We've put in discipline and team rules."
Of course, you can't win without players ... and the Raiders (6-2, 6-1 Peninsula District) have players. Dawson's first season in 2005 coincided with the arrival of a freshman class that included his daughter, Chelsea, and pitchers Sarah Atkins and Travonna Byrd. The three had played Little League together under Dawson. Today, along with classmate Va King (a transfer from Smithfield), they're the core of the team.
With players like Katie Conlon and Liz Yohn already in place, Warwick improved from 6-12 in 2004 to 16-2 (18-5 overall) in '05. The Raiders made the Eastern Region playoffs that season for the first time since ... well, nobody's really sure. After going 36-74 from 1999-2004, Warwick is 39-11 since Dawson took over.
"The biggest turnaround for that program is the addition of Atkins and Byrd," Woodside coach Mike Tallon said. "Prior to that, they never had any real solid pitching. Now, they have two quality pitchers. That's almost instant turnaround because in softball, about 80 percent of it is pitching."
Atkins is 22-7 in her career; Byrd is 17-4. Each has an ERA below 1.00. When one is pitching, the other is playing second base. Atkins is batting .423 with a team-high 12 RBI from the No. 3 spot in the lineup. Byrd is hitting .435 from the leadoff spot and has scored a team-high 13 runs.
"The two of them," King said, "they're so explosive."
"We're double trouble," Byrd said. "The dynamic duo."
They don't do it alone. Junior right fielder Tierra Gostomski is hitting .357, and freshman shortstop Alex Ward is at .375. King and senior third baseman Ashley Trumble each are batting a steady .273.
The Raiders began the season by pounding Menchville, the very team that ended their season last year in the district semifinals. Then came back-to-back losses to Great Bridge and Gloucester, and then came five straight wins - by a combined score of 42-4 - heading into spring break.
Before Dawson took over, it wasn't like this. Records are hard to come by in high school softball, but Warwick hadn't had a winning season since at least the mid-1990s.
Dawson and assistants Jeff Gray and Bill Lucy instilled a no-nonsense approach that was a direct contrast to what the girls had become used to. Atkins and Byrd, who along with King and Ward also play Amateur Softball Association ball, brought a level of talent the program hadn't seen in years.
"The coaching staff made a big difference, and I feel that's why (Warwick) has become so great in the recent years," said Yohn, an '06 Warwick grad who is now a freshman at William and Mary. "Dawson and Gray approached the team almost like a good cop-bad cop scenario. Dawson is very much a conqueror and aggressive leader, while Gray takes a mentor's approach to coaching.
"When they first got to Warwick, they had some difficult challenges. First and foremost, us. We were rather attached to our former coach (Patricia Skaggs) and didn't want the change. They were men, we were teenage girls with all sorts of drama and hormones, and we were used to a female coaching staff. We had to spend a bit of time adjusting to personalities."
Dawson knew he had to change the team attitude, which had become fairly laid-back over the years.
The owner of a lawn-care service, he spruced up the field at Riverside Elementary, turning it into one of the best surfaces in the district. He instructed his players to wear team practice shirts every day to build up spirit and commitment. He made them run.
"Our coaches have made a big difference in discipline," Atkins said. "We do a lot of training and it's made a big influence on us."
Dawson said the recipe has been pretty simple.
"I'm no softball guru," he said. "But we have a hard work ethic and we expect, in the end, the players to develop and do the job." «