A softball family
For Stuarts, 2020 not like they envisioned
A softball family.
Make no mistake, that’s what the Stuarts are.
Add in that Tanner is a baseball and wrestling nut, too, and you could pretty much call them a sports family.
But with mom, Carissa Stuart, named the Warren Area High School softball coach beginning this spring, her daughter Kelsey being a junior two-year returning starter poised to take over as starting pitcher, and a little sister, Alana, who plays travel softball all summer waiting in the wings, yes, they are a softball family.
“At this point for Kelsey, Alana, and even Tanner, who is eight and plays baseball for the Sluggers, we’re just hoping that there will be a summer travel ball season to some extent,” said Carissa. “Alana is 13 so she only plays travel ball and her first tournament was in mid-May and that one has been canceled and will not be rescheduled this year. The next one is Memorial Day weekend and we’ll be surprised if that one doesn’t get canceled as well. Kelsey’s (summer) team has six showcases lined up this summer starting in June. The I.U.P. Summer Showcase is the only one we know that has moved from mid-June to mid-August. This being the summer before her senior year, it’s very important in the recruiting aspect of the game that these showcases will still go on. There’s also many leagues that are held at Betts Park during the summer that Dave and I enjoy.
“How the saying goes, ‘you don’t realize how much you’d miss something until it’s gone,'” said Carissa. “We always look forward to playing our Friday night co-ed games. Having that time together while enjoying softball, and joking and having a good time with our team, the summer will just not be the same without it.”
That’s an understatement from a standout softball player, along with her twin sister Corinne, in the mid-90s at Sheffield High School, and later in college.
Carissa can’t imagine her life without it.
“When I first started playing, I actually played baseball; there wasn’t a softball league. I think it was called the Hot Stove league. Then I remember playing in Little League doing all-stars and eventually travel ball. Playing with my twin sister, Corinne, made it very special. I was a catcher and she played shortstop. I remember we would have secret signs that the coaches didn’t even know about. We would throw behind the runner leading off of second and try to pick them off. However, those plays didn’t always go as planned, but when it did, it was great.
“Playing travel ball is when I fell in love with the game,” she said. “Tournaments weren’t as abundant then like they are now. My parents dedicated a lot of their summer time taking us to tournaments anywhere from Buffalo to as far south as Tennessee and South Carolina. The girls on my teams were all very talented and competitive and we just wanted to win. I loved the hot sunny days that left us exhausted and dirty with scrapes and bruises and weird sunburn marks. I loved the intense moments, full counts with the tying run on third, or hitting the game-winning hit, or getting into pickles. I just knew softball was going to be a part of my life forever. My sister and I both continued to play in college at Florida Southern College. In the summer, we would come home and play in the slow pitch women’s league at Betts Park. Since being a mom now, I have grown to love coaching just as much as I love playing. There is nothing more gratifying than seeing my players develop and gain confidence. I love being a part of that process and there’s nothing else like it. For the future, I’ll play in the co-ed league for as long as I can, but I think Dave will play longer than I will. I hate to think about when that time comes when I’ll have to hang it up. I’m excited for the trips that Dave and I will take now and in the future to watch the kids play. We even want to go watch the Women’s College World Series someday. For now, I’m just glad our kids enjoy playing just as much as I always have.”
Carissa’s husband Dave “has been playing softball in Warren since I was 20 years old (growing up I played baseball),” he said. “Nothing makes me much happier than when it’s game day for myself or for one of my children As far as this year, I’m hoping the leagues I play in go on as scheduled. For the kids, I really hope they can play in some of their travel ball tournaments this year. As for the future, I foresee playing softball as long as my body will allow. I don’t want to switch to golf just yet, maybe by the time I’m 50 and at that point I will umpire to stay as close as possible to the game I love. No matter how far away the kids go to college, I will make it to as many games as possible. I would drive 200 miles after working a 12-hour shift just to be able to watch them play the game they love.”
Like her parents, softball has been in Kelsey’s life since the day she was born.
“During the summer, my mom, grandma, and I always went down to Betts Park to support my dad who was playing on the field,” said Kelsey. “I first started playing tee-ball and then in minors my parents figured out that I could be a left-handed pitcher, which kind of made me feel special. When I started to get older is when I really started to grow a liking for the game. It was fun being on the Warren all-stars Little League team that made it to the state championship game. I’ll always remember that. I’ve also played travel ball since I was 11. The tournaments are so much fun and so competitive. I love being in the circle in the championship game and shutting the other team down. I just get in my zone and buckle down and get it done. My teammates are my best friends and hanging out with them on and off the field is what makes softball so great. My goal for the upcoming year of my softball life is to stay committed to getting better. Then to get accepted into a well-rounded college program and play to the best of my ability.”
In seventh-grade now, and also a pitcher — only right-handed, Alana almost had to love it, didn’t she?
“At the age of eight is when I really fell in love with softball and knew I wanted to be good at it,” she said. “My love for the game is even stronger when I’m with my teammates. One in particular is Emilie Jones. Emilie is the other pitcher on my team. She makes the game way more fun and I wouldn’t want to share the mound with anyone else. I have played in so many tournaments. The amount of sweat, injuries, and tears I have shared with my team is unbelievable. After I get the strikeout or I get that huge hit, I look to my teammates and it is the best feeling when we cheer each other on. A goal I have for playing softball is playing at the college level. Ever since I was a little girl, that has been my dream. I hope all my hard work pays off and it comes true. My recent goal is to be able to control my emotions on the field, especially when the pressure is on. My mom (my coach) would yell out to me on the mound to have a poker face; I never understood what that meant, then one day in the middle of the game I looked at her and said, “what does that mean?” It was pretty funny. My other goal is just to continue to get faster and hit spots. At the end of playing 14U, I would like to gain five miles per hour on my fastball. When I’m done with my career of softball, I’d like to be like my mom and dad and play in the rec league and have fun. I wouldn’t have been able to make it this far without them.”
Now that is a softball family.
Yet, 2020 will be a season they won’t forget.
“Never would I have thought that my first season as a (high school) head coach would be canceled due to a pandemic,” said Carissa. “As a coach, I can’t help but wonder how our season would have went. I wanted it bad, and I wanted it for the players even more. Many of them were going to be starting varsity for their first time and those girls were all showing me that they had something to prove. I could feel their energy and I was excited for them and us as a team. It’s just too bad they won’t get that chance this year. We were one week away from our first game when the news came that school was canceled. I was excited for this new adventure and more so that I was going to be able to share it with Kelsey. Luckily, she’s only a junior so we still have next year together. I was definitely looking forward to the fun moments we would share and the memories we would make. I was excited for her to take on that starting role. She’s been pitching since she was nine and I can’t even imagine how many hours she’s put in on the field, in our driveway, in a church gym, in the YMCA gym, in the YMCA racquetball room. Anywhere she could find to keep practicing year round, she did.
“When I knew the head coaching position was opened (at Warren), I was hesitant at first,” said Carissa. “I never thought that I wasn’t qualified enough, but it’s a BIG commitment. With us having three kids and they all play at least two sports year-round and we both work full time, it was a hard decision. I knew it was going to take time away from me enjoying and helping out with Alana and Tanner, but Dave encouraged me to do it and said that we will make it work, we always do. So, the more and more I thought about it, I just knew I wanted to do it and if I didn’t I was going to regret it. My main goal in taking this position is to keep the tradition of Warren having a great softball program alive. There have been many great softball coaches and players come through Warren High School for as long as I can remember and I wasn’t going to be the one to let the ball drop. I didn’t get the position until probably three or four weeks before the first official day of practice, so I was behind just getting started. I wanted to instill in all my players that being good at something is all about work ethic. Not just in softball, but in life in general. It’s not about the hours you put in, but what you put in to the hours. In the future and especially for next year, we will start open gyms early in the year and be more prepared.
“My emotions mostly consist of defeat because it’s not like we get another year of eligibility like the college-level players,” she said. “It was stripped away from us within seconds. My heart goes out to all the seniors who didn’t get a chance to play their senior year, but especially for Grace (Wortman), Lex (Nyquist), and Morgan (Munksgard).
“I haven’t spoken to the seniors directly yet,” said Carissa. “I told the team I’m hoping we can still get together one more time after the social distancing ban is lifted. Coming in as a first-year head coach, I was elated that I had Lex, Grace, and Morgan as my seniors. Not only am I not going to have the privilege of coaching them, but I’m missing out on their mentorship to the underclassmen. They are phenomenal leaders as much as they are great softball players. It’s girls like them that turn average programs into great programs. I just can’t believe that I’m missing out on the chance to coach them. Overall, I know they’re great girls and whatever path they choose after high school, they’re going to be very successful at it.”
The Stuarts never envisioned the coronavirus entering the season.
“However, it didn’t take long to realize that the idea of them going back to school wasn’t going to happen,” said Carissa. “When school and PIAA sports were canceled for the remainder of the year, it was very surreal and still is. Kelsey and Alana still practice whenever the weather allows. For the long stretches of bad Pennsylvania weather, they make do by doing drills in our basement. When it’s a nice day, one of them always asks, ‘are we going to the field today?'” They have future softball goals in mind, and for them to reach those goals, they know there is no off-season. They aren’t overdoing it, just staying on top of their game and trying to improve on their weaknesses. They are competitive like us, and right now the girls are just longing for the thrill of the game and waiting for that day when they can play again.
“We’ll come out of this eventually,” she said. “Even though, as people, we want instant triumph, this is just one thing that is going to take some time to get past. We can’t speak for everyone, but, yes, we definitely have a deeper appreciation for the game. Whatever it is in life that makes you happy, why not enjoy it as much as possible?”