Saddled with a young and inexperienced roster last year, the Carson Valley Hot Shots U10 softball team knew the summer of 2009 was going to be about taking its lumps and learning tough lessons.
"We did a lot of losing," said coach Ed Doughty. "But the kids played really hard and they never complained. They kept their heads up all season. They were a young team and we just kept telling them to stick with it.
"They all worked hard during the offseason and we started practicing and doing conditioning again back in February. It's paid off."
To say the least.
The Hot Shots, a team representing the top players from the spring season's Carson Valley Girls Softball Association, have literally rolled through their summer schedule, winning four of seven tournaments, including the Carson Valley Days Tournament in June. They've advanced to the championship game in all seven tournaments as well.
This past weekend, the Hot Shots won the Nevada State Championship Tournament, rising out of a field of 11 teams to capture the title over the Reno Predators, 7-4. Carson Valley beat Fallon 11-3 in the first round, Winnemucca 5-1 in the second and topped the Susanville Explosion 6-4 in the semifinals.
With all the success, the team doesn't have any plans of abandoning their strategy of hard work and dedication anytime soon. Three weeks ago, the Hot Shots were informed they'd received a berth into the NAFA World Series of Softball Nationals in Oregon based on their tournament record this season.
The catch was that the team would need to raise more than $5,000 on short notice to get there.
The tournament, which draws more than 200 teams from around the country spread across all of the participating age groups, begins July 22 and concludes July 25. The Hot Shots would be playing in a bracket of about 40 teams.
"When we found out about the tournament, we had to make sure we could actually field a team," Doughty said. "Times are tough and we were looking at $3,800 for the hotel alone. Between that and gas, it really starts to add up. We had to make sure we could actually get a team there.
"We brought everyone together and asked them what they thought. Essentially, it came down to the idea that the kids have worked really hard to get there and we wanted to do this for them."
So began a whirlwind of various fundraisers over the past two weeks.
"We've had a poker night, we've had a car wash, we've had bake sales," Doughty said. "The kids have been going door to door selling Papa Murphy's discount cards. Whatever we do, we want to make sure the kids are doing something to earn this trip. We didn't want parents just giving money to make this happen for them.
"It is important, as part of the philosophy of this team, that you are working to get yourself where you are going. As a result, these kids have really been working their tails off, not to mention practicing three to four times a week."
In two weeks, the team has raised a little more than $2,000. Still in need of $3,000 more, they have a pair of bake sales planned for this Saturday, one at Raley's from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the other at Lira's from 3 to 6 p.m.
Anyone interested in contributing to the team's trip can contact Doughty at 450-1136 or Katrina Allmett at 783-0880.
The Carson Valley Hot Shots include Kylie Swan, Taryn Allmett, Haley Doughty, MacKenzie Brixie, Lauren Lemburg, Faith Connelly, Casey Peck, Jordyn Pinochi, Skylar Berglund, and Madi and Mackenzie Peters.
The team is coached by Ed Doughty, Shell Lemburg, Tracy Connelly and Pat Peters.
"We just have a great group of hard-working kids and we also have very dedicated parents," Doughty said. "That has been a huge part of our success this year."
HOT SHOTS U12 WIN STATE
The Carson Valley U10 squad wasn't the only one to have success last weekend at state. The Hot Shots U12 squad also captured a state title, blazing through the tournament in Winnemucca without losing a game.
The team would have also qualified for the World Series in Oregon, but a number of the players were going to be unavailable due to family vacations.
The team is coached by Kayla Jacobsen, Rob Parks and Kelly Kanishiro. Team members include Morgan Gunnell, Shaena Robinson, Cody Brixey, Leonna Mortimer, Maddie Parks, Allison Meyer, Nicole Rowe, Carissa Swan, Makayla Shaver, Kali Sargent, Layne Waggoner and Savannah Allmett.
