With only three weeks remaining until their season starts, the Quaker softball team faces the prospect of only being able to field the minimum number of players. New coach, Dennis Shores, was hired to unite the team and actively recruit more players. “Forty games with 10 girls is not a good situation at all,” said junior player Zenovia Hogue.

Recently, former softball coach Ty Cook, resigned abruptly, and the team was left with no coach for several weeks. Starting off in the fall with a roster of about 20 players, “there was no real sense of alarm that there was going to be a number problem,” said athletic director Marion Kirby. “But by Thanksgiving and Christmas we were made aware that some of these numbers did not intend to play once the spring season started.”

“We were losing players and it was a deteriorating situation,” said Kirby. “The coach left at an awkward time, because it’s right before the girls were ready to start competing.”

According to Kirby, the athletic department met with the players and interviewed several people for the position. The Department hopes that the new coach will regain the players’ confidence in the team.

“The most successful coaches are those who have been effective recruiters, good communicators and people who care for their students’ total well being,” said sports information director, Dave Walters.

The team collectively agrees that the major problem was with recruitment.

“It is very important that a coach is an effective recruiter,” said Walters, “because they need to find talented student athletes who can play well on the field and work towards their degree.”

“Our old coach looked into girls that were interested but not very dedicated,” said team captain Kelly Guarnieri. “It turned out that many didn’t want to play because they couldn’t handle school and sports together.”

Even though the players believe that Cook could have done much more with recruiting, Walters said, “Since Guilford offers zero athletic scholarships, recruiting is very tricky . the coach is going to have to find a way, besides scholarships, to keep players on the team.”

Lack of communication and conflicting goals created further misunderstandings between the players and the coach.

“(Cook) thought of softball as just a recreational sport,” said Hogue. “She was so laid back and so non-confrontational that we kind of ran ourselves.”

First-year Charissa Duncan did not play during the fall season, yet through observing how practices were run, she was surprised that, “The players were doing everything, and the coach was kind of in the background.”

“Even now we’re just running practices ourselves,” said Guarnieri. “But it’s bringing the team closer together, because we have to work so hard to do it!”

The team hopes that Shores will create a balance of healthy competition, as well as a fun environment for them.

“Hopefully (Shores) will be able to relate to us on a personal level and understand us and also to push us to work hard and take us to the next level,” said Hogue. “We hope that he’ll be able to balance out playing and having fun with competition a little better.”

The girls met with their new coach on Jan. 19, and that seems to have lifted their spirits.

“I think he is the perfect fit for what the (softball) program needs to become successful,” said Duncan. “He has great credentials.”

“The team is already impressed with the work he’s been doing,” said Guarnieri. “Basically, we want to forget the past and start all over again with (Shores).”

The girls are excited to start their spring season, yet they are aware that it will be challenging.

“This season we have very few girls,” said sophomore player Sara Vaisvilas. “We may win more games this year than we did last year, but it’s still going to be tough because of all that happened in the fall.