Maryland softball coach Julie Wright knows players forget gear sometimes. Between the gloves, batting helmets and protective pads, it’s “ridiculous the amount of gear we have,” she said.
But instead of punishing her players like she has seen other coaches do, Wright has fun with it. Before a player can get a piece of equipment back, she must sing to the team.
“This is almost better than any sort of running any coach can ever do to them,” Wright said. “I had been in programs where people had to run for that and I just thought it seemed silly to me, because, I mean, I forget stuff. It’s easy to do.”
It was a tradition Wright started when she became the Idaho State head coach, and is one of the ways the Terps stay loose through a long season.
“There were some things that I saw growing up in my career that I was like, ‘Yeah, I like the way that’s done,’ or, ‘I’m just not going to do it that way,'” Wright said.
Freshman infielder Anna Kufta hasn’t had to sing, but has enjoyed her teammates’ performances in the weight room.
Freshman outfielder Kassidy Cross sang Adele’s “Hello,” senior infielder Jordan Aughinbaugh performed Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” and junior outfielder Destiney Henderson sang a song from the Disney film Aladdin.
Most recently, infielder Skylynne Ellazar forgot her turf cleats on the bus during last weekend’s Northwestern series. The junior grudgingly asked Wright what she had to sing. Instead, Wright “wanted something better.”
The Hawaii native originally performed the hula dance as a freshman in Terps Got Talent and reenacted it before Maryland’s 5-4 win over Northwestern on Sunday.
“Sky’s was definitely the most talented,” catcher Kristina Dillard said.
The Terps also play Wiffle Ball Wednesday and another sport similar to team handball that is played with a Lite-Flight ball and goals.
“It’s important to remind them that things can be fun, because losing’s hard,” Wright said. Maryland is 8-28-1 this year.
Wiffle Ball Wednesday is the most intense, Dillard said. The team develops some of its best memories playing, she added.
On one instance, infielder Sami Main patrolled second base, and Dillard was playing first. When infielder Jacqui Pascual hit a grounder to Main, Dillard called to her, “Easy, easy,” needing just a lob for the out. Instead, Main wound up and pegged it at Pascual, hitting the junior to get the second out of the inning. It was the last thing anyone expected, and they couldn’t contain their laughter.
“It’s definitely bonding,” Kufta said. “It also brings out our competitive side, you can see a competitive edge to people. … Your team just wants to beat everyone, so everyone comes together just to try to win, one common goal kind of thing.”
