Softball: Conifer’s Forgotten Sport

Abigail Leidel

Conifer softball during a home game. “We don’t have many fans, honestly. But we have a lot of parents and siblings that come in support. Sometimes we can ask our teachers and they will come but yeah, that’s about it,” junior Bella Alley said.

Conifer softball stands always seem to stand empty, even during games. Not only does the team have extremely low game attendance, but they also have very few players this season. 16 girls make up the CHS softball roster, which was just enough to make a full varsity team. The lack of fans has not gone unnoticed by players or audience members. 

“Sometimes our parents come, but definitely not a lot of students,” freshman Hailey Bergman said. 

Hailey has been playing softball since she was six years old, she plays pitcher and third base. 

“Its like kind of sporadic, because some weeks we have more than others,” Bergman said. 

Although students possibly have the opportunity to watch the softball games, other Conifer sports are more popular and tend to attract a bigger fanbase.

“At volleyball, there’s always a big crowd, and football too, and at softball, there’s barely anyone,” freshman Brynna Wanbeke said.

Wanbeke plays a variety of different positions and has been involved in the sport since second grade. 

“Normally, when I go there are some parents, but I’ve only ever seen two students, and they only stayed for like ten minutes,” freshman Emily Bunchman said. 

Bunchman’s sister, junior Avrie Bunchman, is a player on the Conifer softball team. Avrie Bunchman plays pitcher, shortstop, and second. Bunchman often goes to watch her older sister’s games and has also noticed the low game attendance and the effect it has on the players.

“I think that more of an audience would be good because in volleyball, hearing the students cheer on everybody and all the fun cheers that they do between sets really helps you get into the game and try harder,” Bunchman said. “For the softball kids, if you only have your parents there, it’s like your school doesn’t support you.”

Alley’s positions include catcher, second, and outfield, and she has been playing since third grade. She expressed that she feels that more fans would increase the excitement on the field and that having an audience would be encouraging.  

“I wish there were a whole bunch of fans on the fence. It would be really fun if they were cheering and stuff but that doesn’t really happen,” junior Bella Alley said.