Venture up to the middle school softball field in the early evening hours and you might notice a group of about 15 teens batting, catching and throwing their way through the autumn months.

The high school softball program is kicking it into high gear this year, according to coach Bill Nye, beginning with the team’s first excursion into a fall ball season.

Nye took over as head coach for the Falcon softball squad a couple of years ago and, since then, he’s spent the spring months working with local athletes as they make their way through the traditional season.

But now that there is a softball program beginning at the middle school level, and Nye said he has a core group of athletes willing to put in the work, the local program is stepping it up a notch this year, beginning with fall ball, continuing into a winter league and, come spring, picking right back up where the team left off at the end of the 2013 season.

“Slapstick softball is going away from Fountain Hills,” Nye said.

“What I mean by that is, in the past, February through May would be the only time we’d play. So come February, everybody would take all of their gear out of the closet, come out and play for a few months, then put it away until next season.”

Nye said that the Falcons have the talent to be a competitive team, however, and one that stays committed to softball on a regular basis.

“I’ve seen the freshmen coming up, and our sophomores and juniors and seniors this year all have the ability to move on and get better,” Nye added.

“So we talked at the end of the year last year to see if there would be any interest in playing during the off season and that’s what the girls wanted to do, so we’re doing it.”

Pitching is key

In recent years, the Falcons were lucky to be able to keep one pitcher on the mound.

This season, Nye said he’s got two who have been putting in additional training with a pitching coach for the past three months and a third who is getting ready to throw as well.

“Pitching is key,” Nye said.

“When I saw that they were putting in that extra work, I said ‘it’s time to start rocking and rolling.’”

Nye got a hold of the City of Phoenix and inquired about club leagues, specifically for the fall and winter seasons. He said that the fall season begins with games on Sept. 19 with teams playing double-headers every Thursday night out of the Rose Mofford Sports Complex.

Games will be held at 6:30 and 8 p.m. each week.

From there, the team will transition into the winter season, get a small break before spring, and then be ready to roll once the 2014 sports calendar kicks off.

“One of our biggest issues has been the lack of a feeder program in the past,” Nye said.

“Now the middle school is introducing softball this year, the girls can get involved and get interested earlier than their freshman year of high school. I was getting girls in the ninth grade who have never picked up a softball before, and that’s not ideal. Even if you’ve got athletic ability, you need to know the game earlier than that.”

Nye said that, along with a program for the younger players, he’s excited to have an assistant coach helping out this season, former Falcon Amanda Scheffler.

“Having an assistant is night and day,” Nye said.

“You can’t do this by yourself, which I’ve been battling these past couple of years.”

Currently, Nye only has three seniors on the roster, including Samantha Scheffler, Dani Laney and Ashlin Caltabiano.

“Some of the others are involved with other sports, which is fine,” Nye said.

“So long as they’re out there keeping busy, that’s great.”

Nye said that he has a lot of juniors at the core of the team, including the likes of Maddie Briguglio, Katie Petkus, Kaycee Hixon and Haley Straub.

“We’ve got a new girl by the name of Kiley Munch who transferred in from Pennsylvania,” Nye said.

“She was big time into lacrosse. I told her if you can catch that little ball in one of those nets, then she can definitely catch a softball. She’s come a long way in just a couple of weeks, so she’ll be fine.”

The Falcons had another junior transfer in, Katrina Thomas, this time from the White Mountains.

“She’s tall and has some speed, so she’ll be playing first base for us,” Nye added.

“We also have a 10th grader, Ally Stevens, who transferred in from San Diego, and she’s a ball player. She’s going to start doing a little pitching for us, too.”

The Falcons will be playing in an 18-and-under league or, as Nye called it, “the big dogs.”

“If we went for the 16-and-under league, we’d have to leave our seniors out, and we definitely didn’t want to do that,” Nye said.

“So the teams we’re going to be playing are tough. We’ll probably go against some pitchers that are getting ready to go on and throw in college. But it’s going to be a great experience for the girls and will really help form that cohesiveness you need to make a strong team.

“We’re in it to learn and gain from the experience. It’s a great opportunity to see some strong teams and to improve before we get to the regular spring season.

“I’m excited. We’re ready to go.”