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Rapid City Journal's Alex Todd Previews Rapid City Central Softball

Category: Youth FP News Created: 23 March 2023 Hits: 421

At the start of something new, there are always a few kinks to work out.

Rapid City Central held its first-ever sanctioned softball practice Monday afternoon, and the team was supposed to practice at Parkview Softball Complex, but when the team arrived the gates were locked.

Cobblers head coach Zane Roduner quickly rallied the troops and reconvened at the Minnesota Street Park soccer field, where they focused their inaugural practice on the basics, fielding grounders and fly balls on a wind-chilled afternoon.

“It's definitely been an adventure,” Roduner said. “Going into it, I knew there were going to be a few unknowns. Right now I’m going with the flow and trying to enjoy it as much as I can, while getting to know the girls and having fun.”

Monday marked the first allowable practice date for the sport in the history of the South Dakota High School Activities Association, which approved the sanctioning of softball in November 2021 and designated it a spring sport two months later.

The date also marked a first for Roduner, having never before coached softball, but he knows the girls on the team from spending time in the hallways as a physical education teacher at Central.

He also knows enough about the game while serving as an American Legion baseball coach at Spearfish and Rapid City Post 320.

After a few years away from the diamond, Roduner saw the posting for the head-coaching position with the Cobblers and leapt at the opportunity to get back on the field.

“I've been coaching baseball for close to 15 years and had the last three or four summers off,” he said. “In the back of my mind, I’ve always thought that if there's an opportunity to get back on a ball field, I'd jump on that chance.”

Ally Davis is a senior at Central and has been playing softball for the last 12 years. She started out playing tee-ball and has since played fastpitch for the last nine years.

Davis plays club ball for the Rapid City Rage in the summers, and her team finished as the runner-up at last year’s state tournament, but she said joining the inaugural Cobblers team was an easy decision.

“It’ll be exciting to tell my kids that might go to Central High School that I was on the first team,” Davis said. “This is the start of the program, like this is new. Everything's new and we have no idea what’s going to happen from here on out.”

Davis took infield and outfield like a natural Monday afternoon, but she made it pretty clear that her preferred spot is behind the plate. She's willing to do whatever is necessary to make sure Central is in the best position to be successful, however.

“I'm a catcher and I've been a catcher all my softball career,” she said. “But I might have to switch it up to be wherever I'm needed.”

This fall, Roduner heard rumors that up to 35 players planned on attending tryouts at Central. After the initial hype wore off, about 15 student-athletes officially joined the team last week.

While high school softball is a new adventure for South Dakota, club softball has been gaining traction for years, especially in Rapid City.

“I think it's awesome,” he said. “With how big softball is in Rapid and to have this as a school sport, I think it's big for all the high schools in the state.”

Roduner said coaching the Cobblers means a little more to him because he’s a Central alumnus.

“I wanted to give back to the school,” he said. “I want to instill pride in the girls for having that name on their jersey. It’s an opportunity that I take full heart in and I want to put the effort in, as the first coach, to instill that work ethic and pride into the program.”

The team consists of girls from a variety of different club programs in the area, which makes it a little more difficult for them to come together as one unit.

Roduner said he’s approaching the head-coaching role with an open mind because there are a lot of different ways to coach the sport, and each player brings a unique mindset to the field because of their background.

Davis thinks playing on different teams in the past helps in practice because it breeds healthy competition in the team, but she admitted it can be challenging at times.

“It's hard, but we go to the same school and know each other really well,” Davis said. “We have that motivation to try and beat each other, which helps us as a team because we're always trying to be better, which is healthy.”

Despite the host of challenges that lie ahead of the Cobblers, every school in the state is in the same boat, and Roduner pointed out that one simple thing will always unite his team.

“To wear your school name on your jersey is important,” Roduner said. “Hopefully there will be a lot of pride in the girls on the field to support that.”

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