The Bayard Tigers will travel roughly 400 miles to North Bend to play their 2022 season opener. It’s a small step in their journey just to get a team on the field. The Tigers are fielding a high school softball team for the first time this season.
Bayard is the first small school in western Nebraska to field a softball team. With a total girl enrollment of only 48, Bayard is the 5th smallest school playing high school softball without co-oping with another school. The four schools that are smaller are all east of Hastings.
The process of putting a team on the field wasn’t easy and there were a lot of hoops to jump through. It started with just changing the communities mindset that they could have softball.
“The biggest challenge is getting the kind of change in the culture and mindset of a small school able to have a softball team,” said head coach Steven Posey.
The process of building a softball culture started last summer when Posey started a summer team in Bayard for high school girls. Something that they hadn’t had in almost 20 years. The community got excited about softball and the possibility of having a high school team started to seem possible.
School Board Approval
Once they started opening up the community’s mind that softball was a possibility they still had to get school board approval. The school board had lots of questions about numbers and cost. It took a few meetings but in November of 2021, the school board voted 5-1 to add softball. It was the Tiger’s first win and they hadn’t even played a game yet.
With school board approval and the season not too far away the work really began for Posey. The Tigers needed a field to play on. Luckily the city had a field that they could use, it would just need some work. There was also the need to raise money for equipment and travel costs associated with the program. Something the Tigers are still working on as the season starts.
The team is holding a hit-a-thon to help raise money for equipment and is accepting any donations people are willing to make. The event takes place on August 26 from 4 – 6 PM.
Bayard had scheduling challenges for this season. Posey didn’t get approval to start the team until late November and a lot of schools already had their schedules done. Not to mention the closest schools to play were much larger and more experienced. Bayard is about 25 miles from Scottsbluff, but the Bearcats are the largest class B school and have their sites set on the class B state tournament. Posey knew that wouldn’t be a good match-up for his first-year Tigers.
This year Bayard will play Gering, and Chadron, and make some trips back east. They will also play some JV teams to help get experience and build their team confidence.
Season Starts Tomorrow
With their season starting tomorrow in North Bend the Tigers can turn their focus to the field. As a new team, with limited experience, Posey knows it’s not about the wins and losses.
“I think for us it’s really about improving ourselves and our IQ. It’s really about progressing and showing that we’re able to get this team up and running,” said Posey.
The Bayard school, community, and team are already winners, regardless of what happens on the field in 2022. They’ve stepped up to offer the girls in their community the chance to play softball. To compete for their school and to keep playing the game they enjoy.
