When the first pitch is thrown this summer, it will mark more than the start of a softball season. It will mark the beginning of a new chapter for girls athletics in Clarendon County.
For the first time, Williams Burgess Post 68 American Legion has fielded a girls fastpitch softball team, giving local athletes an opportunity that did not previously exist in Manning.
The Post 68 Lady Warriors were created this year as American Legion leaders looked to expand opportunities for female athletes and keep local softball talent closer to home. For years, many area players interested in Legion softball traveled to neighboring counties to compete. Now, those athletes have a team of their own.
Leading the inaugural squad is head coach Jessica Stiles, a longtime softball player and coach whose connection to the sport spans decades.
Stiles played varsity softball at Laurence Manning Academy beginning in the seventh grade and was part of two state championship teams before continuing her softball career through travel and recreation leagues. A graduate of Lander University, she began coaching in 2015 and has since worked in recreation, travel and school softball programs, including coaching stints at Laurence Manning Academy and Wilson Hall. She is joined by assistant coach Randy Holcomb, a veteran travel softball coach whose daughter, McRee Holcomb, is a member of the Lady Warriors roster.
The response to the team's formation exceeded expectations.
After promoting tryouts through social media and local high school coaches, more than 20 athletes came out to compete for a roster spot. Stiles ultimately selected 15 players before one later withdrew, leaving a 14-player roster.
"The tryout response was overwhelming. It was great," Stiles said. "I'm hoping with us playing and it growing, maybe some people who didn't hear about it this year will hear about it next year. I hope it gets even bigger."
Building the team from scratch presented unique challenges. Unlike established programs, the Lady Warriors had no existing roster, uniforms or organizational framework.
"We were building everything from the beginning," Stiles said. "I had to hold tryouts, select a team and get uniforms ordered. We were starting fresh."
When evaluating players, Stiles said talent was only part of the equation.
"The first thing I was looking for was attitude," she said. "Are they team players? Do they hype each other up? What kind of energy do they bring? Then I looked at their softball ability and what they could offer the team."
The roster reflects the wide reach of the new program.
Players represent Laurence Manning Academy, Clarendon Hall, East Clarendon, Sumter High School, Crestwood High School, Bates Middle School and Ebenezer Middle School, bringing together athletes who normally compete against one another during the school season.
Stiles believes the diversity of backgrounds is one of the team's strengths.
"I'd love to see the chemistry and the growth for them on the field," she said. "You're taking a team from all different areas and putting them together."
Among the players is veteran standout Zaire Ransom, whom Stiles described as a role model for the younger athletes on the roster.
Many of those younger players are still in middle school, competing alongside high school athletes several years older than themselves. Stiles said watching the girls embrace the challenge has been one of the most rewarding parts of coaching the inaugural team.
"They're like sponges," she said. "They're so eager to learn."
The Lady Warriors will make their home debut June 9 at Laurence Manning Academy's softball field. To help inspire the next generation of players, girls ages 13 and younger who wear a softball jersey will receive free admission.
Stiles said she hopes young athletes see the Lady Warriors as proof that opportunities exist close to home.
"They are our future," she said. "We want them to know there's a place for them in the summer that they can carry softball out of school and park and recreation ball. We want them to see our girls on the field and know that this is next. We want you to come to us next."
She hopes local girls see the Lady Warriors as something more attainable than the elite teams they watch on television.
"American Legion is right here in their backyard," Stiles said. "We're right here waiting on them."
Asked what success would look like for the program five years from now, Stiles didn't hesitate.
"We'll be American Legion champions," she said. "And we'd like to have it more than once."
She hopes today's youngest Lady Warriors will eventually become the veteran leaders of a championship-caliber program and help establish Post 68 as a contender on the Legion softball circuit.
For now, however, the significance of simply taking the field is not lost on her.
"It's emotional. That's exciting," Stiles said. "Softball is everything to me. This provides an opportunity that last year these girls did not have. There are amazing athletes in Clarendon County, and now they don't have to travel somewhere else to play."
Coach: Jessica Stiles
Assistant Coach: Randy Holcomb
