Softball team celebrates championships

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- In most sports, the seniors have their final moments on the field in May, after the high-school year ends and state championships are handed out.

But in baseball and, in the case of this team, softball, there's another couple of months to enjoy each other's company before heading their separate ways to college.

Players from this year's summer traveling team and others who have played in seasons past gathered for a season-ending banquet at Fort Scott's Buck Run Community Center Tuesday evening.

This year was the final year for the majority of players who began playing on a traveling team five years ago. Under the watch of coaches Alvin Metcalf -- who is also the head coach of the Fort Scott High School program -- Steve Floyd, Perry Cannon and John Gray, this group has won two national championships and finished as runner-up in another national tournament. And that doesn't even include the high-school season, during which many of these players won a KSHSAA state championship in 2005, finished third the following year and won consecutive Southeast Kansas League championships.

Metcalf said the original goal for the program was to get players ready to compete on the FSHS team. Now there's another goal: Get as many players as possible a chance to get a college scholarship.

"We're getting these girls recognized by colleges," Metcalf said. "Take a look at all these girls we have up there.

"It's been a lot of fun for me," he added. "We've had more fun in these five years than we've had doing anything. And next year, we'll be (fielding) another 18-and-under team and we're going to be fielding 12-, 14-, and 16-year-old teams."

Among those who have played for the summer program that are or will be playing in college are Heather Davis and Erin Floyd at Cowley College, Crystal Colvin at Fort Scott Community College, Lexi Cannon at Highland Community College, Jessica Uhler at Allen County Community College and Amanda Metcalf -- Alvin's daughter -- at Labette Community College. Metcalf has said that colleges are inquiring about Afton Gray, Hannah Hawkins, Kaleigh Armstrong and Katelyn Simpson, who will all be seniors at FSHS next year.

Amanda noted how strange it will be to play against former teammates next year.

"Sarah Taylor, she played with us in the nationals this past week and she's real fun," Metcalf said. "She's going to be our pitcher next year for Labette. (But) it's going to be really weird to be out there on the field to see other teammates (on the other team). It's going to be hard but you're enemies between the lines and friends off the field."

In the five years the program has been running, the girls have compiled a record of 155-55-1, winning the USSSA 16-and-Under World Series in 2005 and the 2006 AFA 18-and-under national championship in 2006. This year, the team finished second in the ASA national tournament at Lawrence, Kan.

"It's been really good," Amanda said. "The girls have gotten a lot closer over the years and it's going to be really hard and let them go and come back here and watch the young girls play and not be able to be out there. But I think we've all grown together. That will show up on the college fields and later on in life."