Over the February break, the Judges’ softball team traveled to Los Angeles, CA, to start off their 2025 season in a delightfully warm climate. The Judges went into this trip with high spirits and hopes of starting the season off strong. Despite their intentions, the Judges lost nine of the 10 games that they played in California. This was a result of some factors that the players and coaches could not control due to some injuries on the team.
The Judges faced the University of La Verne, Occidental College, Chapman University, Pamona-Pitzer and Whittier College during their trip. Their win was against Occidental College with a score of 13-5.
Now, I believe that there is a time and a place to recap games, but here does not feel like an appropriate scenario to do so. I think that much more could be gained from a discussion about the importance of loss in sports along with the trajectory of the softball team.
To start, softball is a mental game; a huge percentage of the energy that goes into this game is mental. Our softball players are some of our toughest athletes because of this. Additionally, playing a doubleheader everyday with just one off day is quite the feat. This must have been extremely hard on the players’ bodies.
In some ways, coming away with numerous losses can be a positive. You do not learn nearly as much as you do when you lose when you win. It is easy to be pleased by the outcome of a game and perhaps overlook the errors made during the outing. When you lose, you are more likely to be introspective and analyze what went wrong. By doing so, you can learn about what areas of improvement would be most beneficial to focus on and make the necessary changes to improve going forward. Starting off the season with loss may not be all that bad if it means that you can truly hone in on your weaknesses individually and on a team level.
Losing in sports enhances a team and player’s toughness, allows them to learn more and makes the good performances much more valuable and rewarding.
None of the softball’s performances were bad during this trip. Most games were lost by only a run or two. Unlike fast-paced sports like soccer or basketball, softball is a more difficult game in terms of responding to the opponent’s moves. The score does not reflect the number of runners left on base either, which could be worth much more if reported along with the overall team stats.
With so many talented new players on the team, the fantastic camaraderie the whole team has and the amount of games they have yet to play this season, I have tremendous confidence in our softball team and their potential for success.
Sometimes it is darkest before dawn in terms of sports. This start to the season could have been a pivotal string of events that could set the tone for the remainder of the season.
Looking ahead, given that the snow melts, the softball season will continue on March 15 at home in a doubleheader against Wentworth College. Come out to support your Judges!
