Not every high school softball team is lucky enough to have a rigorous pre-season conditioning program, but the Lawrence High JV and varsity teams are grateful to say they do—all thanks to Tyler Naylor from Evolution Athletics.
For the past two years, Naylor has led the girls through pre-season conditioning, free of charge. Freshman softball player Bella Neuteboom thinks that the pre-season work has helped the team’s transition into the regular season.
“I think that we are in shape a lot more, and everything has been easier to go through at practice because he worked us really hard, while also recognizing the extent we could do things,” Neuteboom said.
Naylor emphasized the importance of pre-season workouts to having a successful season.
“I think preseason conditioning is extremely important in all sports, not just softball,” Naylor said. “We know through research and through experience that athletes who attend a well-run preseason program have a much lower risk of injury and perform better.”
As a result, the softball team had a promising start to their season with JV going 3-0 and varsity going 3-1 in their first few games.
“He really helped give us motivation and made us work so we would get better for the season,” sophomore varsity softball pitcher Sophie Rowley said. “We have a lot of agility and a lot of people are very athletic.”
Getting back into shape for softball season is rarely comfortable, with the first few days often being filled with sore muscles, stiff joints, and fatigue. One advantage of pre-season workouts is the ability to ease that process. During Naylor’s sessions, the team mostly focused on reactive exercises such as short and long sprints, as well as jumping drills.
JV left field junior Brianna Monroe recognized the initial difficulties of the training, but also the athletic improvement gained.
“In the beginning, it [the training] was kind of iffy because I was out of shape, but the more you do it it gets easier,” Monroe said.
What drew Naylor initially to helping the team was his friendship with head softball Coach Mike Byrn, and a want to make a difference for young athletes.
“Coach Byrn and I go back many years,” Naylor said. “I’ve had the pleasure of training a number of his players who have since gone on to the next level to play. When he got the HC job I knew that I wanted to do what I could to help him have success with his team. He believes in the training we provide and I think that’s extremely important.”
In addition to the training Naylor provides, his positive energy also makes an impact on the team’s attitude and performance.
“He’s just really positive,” Neuteboom said. “He knows exactly what we could do and how to push us to the potential he knows we have.”
