GRAVETTE — Shyanne Nichols made her expectations clear. There’s only one way Gravette softball should be ending its season this May.
“I think we’ll go all the way,” Nichols said. “We were so close last year and we have the exact same team. I think we all work well together, so it will be pretty sweet.”
Returning all of its star power from a year ago, when the Lady Lions went 22-9 and lost, 9-5, to Ashdown in the Class 4A State Tournament semifinals, Nichols feels Gravette is primed and loaded for another memorable run.
First things first.
The state tournament is still months away but Gravette is already off to a great start, led by Nichols, the 5-foot-6 senior right-handed pitcher and shortstop.
A star of three sports at Gravette, along with volleyball and basketball, Nichols feels her versatility between playing surfaces helps her on the softball diamond, using raw athleticism to help give her a “better understanding” of the game.
Her coach, Taos Jones, agreed.
“The winning feeling carries over into all of the sports. It’s got to help,” Jones said. “I can put her at any position out here and she’d do well. She’s just an amazing athlete - probably one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached. Her raw athleticism is just amazing.” Jones said.
The only downside of Nichols being a threesport athlete is the fact she’s not able to practicewith the softball team year-round, something that he feels is more of a disadvantage to the Lady Lions as a whole, rather than a knock on her skill.
It’s all because of the leadership Nichols displays on the diamond, with younger players flocking to her, eager to improve by learning from Gravette’s best. When volleyball and basketball are in season, the Lady Lions lack that during softball
“I like it. It makes me work harder, which is good,” Nichols said of her leadership role. “It helps me make a lot of friends. Because of underclassmen, I make a lot of friends. Sometimes it’s tough, but I like it because it makes me work harder.”
More than Gravette’s success on the diamond, the hard work Nichols puts in has paid off on a personal level, earning her a scholarship to play for Crowder College inNeosho, Mo., next season.
The plan is for her to play either left or center field for the Lady Roughriders and, even though she plays infield at the high school level, Jones doesn’t have any concern about Nichols adapting to deeper fly balls and longer throws.
She’s not worried either.
“On my summer team, I play left field every single game,” Nichols said. “I love playing outfield. It’s really fun.”
Sports, Pages 7 on 03/28/2012