MONTICELLO − Kate Reiff was an extremely intense and competitive as a standout softball player at Twin Lakes.
Trying to coach her alma mater with the same fire yielded mixed results through her first four seasons.
After the Indians finished last season 12-18, Reiff did some soul searching.
“My ego was a little hurt, and that’s OK,” Reiff said. “My ego needed to be hurt a little bit. If that didn’t happen, I don’t think I would’ve self evaluated as hard as I did.”
Twin Lakes began this season 2-5, and Reiff had done enough self reflection to realize her coaching approach wasn’t right for the roster she had.
The players and coaching staff made a pact. If Reiff was willing to scale back a little, the players were willing to meet her in the middle. They didn’t want to strip Reiff of who she is, and Reiff didn’t want her players so frustrated they couldn’t perform to their abilities.
It’s resulted in a 9-4 record in Twin Lakes’ last 13 games, including avenging an early season loss to West Lafayette with a 2-1 victory on Tuesday, followed by a 16-6 victory over Central Catholic.
“She was definitely harder, and she realized her softening up is what we needed as a team,” senior pitcher Myley Spriggs said. “She’s really learned our personalities and adjusted to our personalities one by one.”
Admittedly mentally beaten down in her younger years, Spriggs has learned to push mistakes aside and move forward. After a wild pitch by Spriggs Tuesday put Twin Lakes in a 1-0 deficit in the top of the first against West Lafayette, Spriggs atoned for it with a two-run single in the bottom of the frame, accounting for all the runs she’d need.
Spriggs, helped by her defense − including a diving stab of a line drive by third baseman Kendra Hughes and a throw from center field by Miya Clerget to gun down a base runner at home − the Indians finished the game with six scoreless innings.
“It really is true with any position, whether it’s a CEO with a company or whatever, it starts at the top,” Reiff said. “Your energy is what they’re going to match. That was hard for me at the beginning realizing I was cut from a different cloth. I’m a little overcompetitive at times. Realizing I can’t just put that inside of them, I have to model and lead and show them how to do that. I wasn’t doing that the right way the last four years.”
With a different approach, Reiff has rediscovered the joy of softball, and the players have churned out a number of recent impressive victories.
“Last year, we were more of ourselves first over the team,” Clerget said. “This year we’ve improved on that. We want to get there together. We want to win games. We want to move on in sectionals.
“We all known we can be a good team if we all string it together. That’s what we’ve pulled together as of late. Everyone is doing it together as a team.”
The Indians have seven players hitting at least .321 after Tuesday’s doubleheader sweep. More importantly, they’re winning with a freer style of play rather than being on edge.
The team relies heavily on talented underclassmen. For the team’s two seniors, Spriggs and Maddy Hook, they’ve become the leaders by age, but they aren’t the only ones stepping up.
That, like the recent success, takes a total team effort.
“Our team now is the closest, most well-knit team we’ve ever had,” Spriggs said. “Since there’s only two seniors, we put grade levels aside. We try to get as many verbal leaders as we can. Me and Maddy Hook, we are the ones leading the small things like counting the stretching, but other than that, we’ve had verbal leaders through every grade.”
After a head coach’s change in philosophy, coupled with a surging youth program, Twin Lakes may be set up to succeed long after Spriggs and Hook have exited the program.
“Their first three weren’t what you would call great in terms of experience,” Reiff said. “This year, they’re making it their own. That’s critical when you have such a young team.”
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Change in philosophy has Twin Lakes softball turning season around
Reporting by Sam King, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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