Lady Comanches thrive in multiple sports
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
by Mike Forman, Advocate Sports Reporter
AdvoSports.com Article | Shiner Track | Shiner Softball | Shiner Tennis | Shiner Comanche Sports Home Page
SHINER - Kori Landman is occasionally envious watching teammates leave after softball practice.
Shiner High School's Sabrina Blaschke takes the baton from first leg Maggie Grosenbacher in the 1600-meter relay at the Region IV-2A meet on Saturday, May 2 in Kingsville. The team finished in second place in this event.
[ click on any photo to enlarge ]all photos by Yi Lee, Victoria Advocate
Instead, she heads up the hill at Green-Dickson Park to Comanche Stadium where she throws the discus.
"Sometimes, I think, 'You lucky dog. I want to go home,'" Landman said. "But I know what has to be done. If I want to do well, I have to go lift after this and throw after this. I really enjoy it."
Landman is not alone. Eight players from the Shiner softball team participate in track and field. Three members of the track and field team played tennis.
The Lady Comanches stay busy and they're successful.
Shiner sent three tennis players to the regional tournament.
The Lady Comanches won district, area and regional titles in track and field.
Shiner captured the district championship and earned a bi-district bye in softball.
"Your better athletes, they can perform," said Shiner athletic director and head football coach Steven Cerny, who also coaches softball. "They have the skills to do whatever it takes and obviously speed helps in this game so you want to try and get your track girls out. It's a small town. There's no reason why you can't do both. You've just got to balance things out."
Shiner High School's Mackinly Pilat, third left, crossing a hurdle during the 300 hurdles at Region IV-2A meet on Saturday, May 2 in Kingsville. Pilat took second place in this event.
[ click on any photo to enlarge ]
The Shiner coaches realize the athletes are participating in more than one sport and adjust their workouts accordingly.
"The coaches have to get along," Cerny said. "You're going to have to give in some. You can't have them all the time if you want to be good at both. It's worked really well this year. Cece (Oden, the girls track coach) and I have communicated well. There haven't been any issues whatsoever."
Oden attempts to get most of her track conditioning done during athletic period, and has the girls work on their specialties after softball practice.
"We're lucky those kids can balance all that," Oden said. "They're multi- talented. You cannot make them feel they can't handle it all because they can.
"The thing where coach Cerny and I work together is what running he does in softball," she added. "If they're coming back to me and they ran poles in softball, he calls me and lets me know so I know what to work on here."
Sophomore Kassidy Bishop plays outfield on the softball team and won five gold medals at the regional track and field meet in Kingsville.
"Your teammates help a lot by pushing you," Bishop said. "There are days you don't want to go, but you're pushing for your team so that helps me a lot. My coaches know. They'll let us have a little rest. They can kind of tell when we're worn down."
The biggest challenge facing the athletes is not carrying issues from one sport to the next.
"We just talked about that the other day," Landman said. "My hitting hasn't been too on point. When I throw a discus, my hips come through. When I hit, I have to do it all the same time. I have to separate myself and know where I am at the time."
"I try to focus on what I'm doing at the time," Bishop agreed. "If I do bad, it kind of weighs on me. If I have a bad day on the field, I have to shake it off when I get to the track."
Shiner High School's Kassidy Bishop, center, finishes first in the 200 meter dash at the Region IV-2A meet on Saturday, May 2 in Kingsville. Bishop won five gold medals from long jump, triple jump, 200 meter dash, 800-meter relay and 400-meter relay events.
[ click on any photo to enlarge ]
Shiner will play a best-of-three game area softball series against Burton beginning Thursday in Smithville.
If the Lady Comanches win, they will advance to the regional quarterfinal round during the same weekend when Bishop, Landman and Mackinly Pilat will compete at the state track and field meet in Austin.
"It's going to get real interesting," Cerny said. "We always like to play a series. With the state track meet, that might not be a possibility. I just told them whatever sport they're at that day make sure that's where your focus is and be able to switch gears when you go to the other."
That's nothing new for the Lady Comanches, who set high goals for themselves.
"I love to run and I love to play softball too," Pilat said. "Winning both would mean a lot."
Mike Forman is a sports writer for The Victoria Advocate.
Contact him at 361-580-6588, or by e-mail at mforman@vicad.com.
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