The Odessa High softball team enters the 2024 season with a change in command but one that’s no stranger to the program.
Head coach Elsa Cocker takes over after previously serving as the assistant coach for the Lady Bronchos as the team is looking forward to the new season.
“We’re super excited,” Cocker said. “The girls have been working really hard. We’re a young team but we’re very athletic. We’re pretty excited. We’re super excited about getting the season started. We just finished our scrimmages so we’re pretty excited.”
The Lady Bronchos are looking to make a playoff run this season as they return six players with varsity experience after graduating five seniors last year.
One of the things she’s excited about is her team’s outfield.
“I think we have a great defense,” Cocker said. “We can make good team plays. Essentially, we’ll do a lot of great things. I won’t say we have a lot of weaknesses. I do think that we’re young and we need to allow our players to get experiences.”
Cocker is looking forward to the new challenges of being a head coach this season.
“I’m pretty excited,” Cocker said. “Being on the third base box, sometimes it can be a little overwhelming but I’m super excited to get the season going and playing softball and focusing on the game and allowing our athletes to grow and play ball.”
The team finished up the scrimmage portion of its calendar last week.
While the team might be young, Cocker said there were plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the season, based on what she saw from last week’s scrimmages.
“Offensively, we’re doing a good job of identifying both sides of the corners and allowing us to work … we’ve been putting the ball into play and whatever corner the pitcher is giving us,” Cocker said. “We’re working hard on pitch selections.”
Odessa High’s first game will be at 5 p.m. Tuesday against Andrews at Ratliff Softball Complex.
