Embracing change

Versatility is one of the most important parts of a player’s skill set for Vestavia Hills High School softball coach Lissa Walker.

Instead of having nine players on the field at once who can each play one position and one position only, she wants multiple players who can move around at a moment’s notice should the need arise.

This year’s Rebel team is no different and has a number of prime examples that can attest to her insistence on having contributing pieces capable of shuffling the deck.

RaeAnn King and Kate Meloun were starting infielders on last year’s Vestavia Hills team that advanced to the state tournament and went home with a third-place finish in Class 7A. Both were more than adequate at third base and second base, respectively, but this year has brought change.

In the early stages of this season, neither King nor Meloun could be found in the same spots. The emergence of freshman Mary Claire Wilson prompted a shuffle in the lineup. With Wilson logging the majority of the innings at third base, King moved over to second base, a new position for her at the high school level.

Meloun has found herself in left field quite a bit, which is not nearly as drastic of an adjustment, as she played outfield during her summers playing travel ball. Her move to second base last year actually came as a way to help the team, so the concept is not foreign to her.

One other player adjusting to a new position this season is Addie Bean, who has played in the middle infield her entire softball career until Walker sent her to right field the first day of practice.

After splitting time with the junior varsity and varsity teams a season ago, with her varsity action primarily coming as a pinch runner, Bean saw the move as a way to get on the field and increase her value to the team.

“I knew there weren’t that many positions on the infield that I could fill, and I wanted to play on varsity, so I had to adapt to what the team needed and where I could help the team,” she said.

As far as adjusting to the outfield, Meloun noted the differences between fielding the ball on the dirt as opposed to in the grass, but has found the transition fairly comfortable. Bean has had to learn a completely new set of fundamentals on the green expanse.

“It’s all different,” she said. “The way you approach the ball, the way you throw the ball, the way you have to go throughout playing the game and knowing where to go in each situation.”

Senior center fielder Ashley Dieguez aids Bean by being right beside her when Bean is in right field, something that King also benefits from in the infield. Although she played on the same side of the infield as shortstop Merritt Cahoon, King now relies on Cahoon greatly with the two now being double-play partners.

“That’s perfect, since we’ve played together since middle school,” King said. “With me being put at second, everyone likes me there. We’ve always worked together.”

All three have embraced their position changes and have increased their value to the team in the process, allowing Walker the roster flexibility in the event of needed or forced change.

“She throws us into a position, that way we can get comfortable in case later on in the season, something happens,” Meloun said. “That way you’re not like, ‘Oh my gosh, the season’s ruined, we don’t have anyone there.’”