Sitting in the outfield of Cypress High’s softball field is something that has never been there before.
Something that many may surely think is commonplace in not only softball, but also any competitive sport.
A scoreboard.
Freshly painted in the proper orange and blue hues, the new scoreboard stands as a symbol for the team’s hard work in recent years.
Sitting in the outfield of Cypress High’s softball field is something that has never been there before.
Something that many may surely think is commonplace in not only softball, but also any competitive sport.
A scoreboard.
Freshly painted in the proper orange and blue hues, the new scoreboard stands as a symbol for the team’s hard work in recent years.
“I think we deserved it,” said Paige Hallam, who plays shortstop for Cypress. “We made it to last year’s CIF finals and I think the new scoreboard is a symbol of our accomplishments.”
For a team that has finished near the top of the Empire League two years in a row, the absence of a scoreboard was “glaring,” said Principal Dr. Jodie A. Wales, who put up more than $20,000 of her own money to help purchase the scoreboard.
“We made a decision early last year to show support to girls softball and girl sports programs by upgrading the facility,” said Wales. “The glaring difference between the baseball and softball programs was that there was no scoreboard for the girls.”
Recognizing that the softball program needed some improvement in their facility is something that Cypress’ Molly Smith, who plays pitcher, said she liked about the new purchase. Even more so is the message that it sends to the younger players on the squad.
“It’s a good improvement for years to come,” said Smith. “All the freshman and sophomore players will be able to play under the new scoreboard.”
The idea to buy the new scoreboard had been brought up in the past at parent-teacher meetings for the team. However, for years a big hurdle stood in the way: the price tag.
But the team didn’t let that get in its way this year, and got support for it.
“It was a community effort,” said coach John Felicetti.
Players said they got a lot of support from family members during the fundraising phase. They sold community discount cards for various local businesses, raised money through an adopt-a-player program, and sold advertising space for the fence lining the field.
“Having that goal made us want to raise the money even more,” said Jessica Martinez, who’s plays outfielder and third base.
At the end of the fundraising efforts, the team had raised about $6,000, which was far less than $37,000 needed.
That’s where the softball booster club and principal came in. The booster club matched the girls’ contribution and principal Wales covered the difference.
“We…[wanted] to show how much we value our female athletes,” said Wales.
Currently, the team is in a training lull due to it being the offseason, but the new facility addition has the team roaring for the upcoming season.
“We want to rack up points on the left side of the scoreboard now,” said Felicetti.
Los Al’s softball team starts the new season in February and will be one of only a few schools in the area to field three teams.
