Aubrey Leach and Jayda Coleman Shine as Team USA Begins Its Journey Towards World Games
A four-day period was all Team USA had leading into the USA Softball All-Star Showcase, and that was it. Just four days to get together, train, and compete before heading into a summer that ends with the World Games in Chengdu, China this August. For most teams, that would not be enough. For this group, it was a promising start.
“It’s only been four days, but I think with all of the training that we’ve been doing and how much we’ve actually been together, we’ve been a pretty cohesive bunch,” Aubrey Leach said. “It’s been cool to just see each other grow.”
The players looked the part as usual, although a few nerves were still present. One player who stood out was Leach. In Friday night’s two games, she went a combined 4-for-7 with two home runs, seven RBIs, and three runs scored.
Leach has been a top-level player for a long time, and this week she reminded everyone just how much of a gamer she still is. After the Showcase, she credited the coaching staff and the structure they brought in such a short window.
“We have amazing coaches that Coach Gasso brought in,” Leach said. “Learning from each of them has been really neat and helpful, and I think it paid off tonight in a really competitive ball game.”
Coach Patty Gasso has several players she’s familiar with from Oklahoma, including Tiare Jennings, Kinzie Hansen, Kelly Maxwell, and Jayda Coleman. While she already knows them well, the process of connecting with new players like Leach has been one she has embraced.
Coach Gasso also wants to make sure that everyone’s time is valued, and they can take something valuable from this experience.
“We have really been trying hard to do this because we use a lot of measurements,” Gasso said. “We are gathering information and creating a profile for every player so that if for some reason they are not making a team, I have something to show them and I can say it to them. I think that is one of the biggest things I felt a need for. Honesty. That is what they deserve if they are giving their time for all of this. So the growth was just us connecting.”
Gasso is learning quickly what some of these new players bring to the table.
“So obviously we know this one very well,” she said, motioning toward Coleman. “But I really enjoy this one now that I know her, and what a gamer she is,” she added, looking toward Leach. “I get to watch other athletes do things that I don’t get to see very often and watch them, just in four days, get better and grow and showcase themselves.”
Coleman was another standout in the Showcase. On Friday, she went 4-for-6 with a home run, three RBIs, and four runs scored. The former Sooner and current OKC Spark player brought her usual spark and then some.
“I think I did actually pretty well leading up to this, motivating myself and pushing myself,” Coleman said. “Then coming to training camp and just watching all these amazing players, it just makes you want to also be amazing. You want to push to be as good as them.”
Coleman had a full-circle moment when she stepped in the box behind Amanda Lorenz, someone she once watched with admiration.
“To see girls that I used to watch in college, and now Amanda Lorenz, she was like my person when I went to Florida on a visit,” she said. “She drove around her little moped, and now I am behind her in the lineup. It is the craziest experience. I never thought we would be here, and now we are. It is awesome.”
The USA Softball All-Star Showcase gave everyone a taste of what this group can become. Four days was not much, but it was enough to show they are already moving in the right direction.
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