The goal is simple: be one percent better. This is a mantra that new varsity softball coach Corey Cataline has been telling his team since day one. According to player Kaleigh Keyton (12), it’s working.
“That stuck with all of us, [because] we can get one percent better, it’s not that hard,” Keyton said. “Every day, just try harder.”
Cataline hopes to build an exciting and positive softball culture for the team.
“Wins will come,” Cataline said. “The want to be here is the first goal.”
Softball player Atalaya Martinez (11) wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the new coach.
“Going into the new season, I don’t think [there] was anything that we were scared of, knowing that we had our assistant coach there,” Martinez said. “But I think there was more of an uncertainty, because it was a male lead coach [instead] of a female.”
But Martinez was pleasantly surprised and thought their first practice was much more inviting, welcoming and structured than what she was used to in previous years. Keyton felt the same way.
“The way we ran practice was so different,” Keyton said. “I was actually seeing improvement on all the girls.”
But it wasn’t until a rough start in their very first game against Haslett that Keyton realized just how much of a difference Cataline made.
“Last year, if we were down, we would just give up,” Keyton said. “We would stop trying. I don’t really know what he did, [but] his words and the way he acted just kept us going, and we won.”
Keyton has been playing softball for eight years, and she has never been this excited for practice every day.
“He’s really funny [but] he knows how to be serious at the same time,” Keyton said. “[We can] have fun with what we’re doing, and what he’s teaching us is actually helping us and making us feel more confident.”
This is very different from what Keyton experienced last season.
“Every day, most of us didn’t want to show up to practice,” Keyton said. “Our coaches last year weren’t bad. But to a point, [I] felt like there was a lot of pressure playing for them, and we didn’t have much confidence. This year, he builds us up. If we make a mistake, [we] just move on.”
Martinez agrees that Cataline is more encouraging, but also likes that he doesn’t sugarcoat things.
“This coach is more honest with us,” Martinez said. “He tells us not what we want to hear, but what we need to hear.”
She also feels that this year is going much better, and the team is improving in communication and confidence.
“I enjoy [Cataline] a lot,” Martinez said. “[The season has been] a lot more upbeat than what we had last year. I honestly think last year we didn’t win [a lot] not because of our talent, but because of our motivation and our energy throughout the whole season.”
Cataline feels that the biggest challenge of taking over a new team is winning over everyone and earning their trust and respect. So far, this is going great for him.
“The girls are buying in, working very hard and getting better every day,” Cataline said. “They are excited and eager to learn and I couldn’t be happier with our start.”
Cataline first became interested in coaching when he was young because of his family.
“I grew up a ‘coaches kid,’ being coached in sports by my dad and grandpa,” Cataline said. “I loved teaching and connected well with people. I always knew I wanted to coach [or] teach.”
It was his daughter that drew him towards softball. She started playing early on, and Cataline fell in love with the game, coaching her teams for over ten years before coming here. He feels that ELHS’s current team is on the right track and has many wishes for them this spring.
“I hope so much for this team,” Cataline said. “That they know how much they are appreciated and respected. That they find success on this field, in the classroom and in life. That they love softball after this season more than before. That they find forever friendships. That they always remember this team. And maybe they win more games than not.”
