While it’s undeniable that high school sports are in a lull right now from a competition standpoint, nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to offseason workouts and preparations for the next season. Though it feels like their season just ended, many members of the Pella Christian softball team are thinking of ways they can be better in 2013.

Lady Eagles’ head coach Nate Van Wyk says much of the concentration in the upcoming weeks and months will be on getting stronger and better conditioned.

“I guess from this point on it’s, ‘continue to get in the weightroom; continue to work on your conditioning,’ When we had our postseason meetings, one of the things I said is, ‘everybody’s got to get stronger and everybody’s got to get quicker,’” said Van Wyk.

“A lot of the girls who do play softball play other sports. There’s a lot of them going to basketball camps and volleyball camps right now; so they’re staying in shape and they’re staying active. We definitely have to make sure that we stay in the weight room, that we continue to stay hitting, continue to stay in shape and stuff like that.”

“I think they want it. I really do,” adds Van Wyk. “In talking with the girls in their meetings, I think there’s a whole lot of them – a good corps of them there – that really want to succeed and get this program back where it should be. That’s the direction we’ll head from here.”

Van Wyk is hopeful to return the program to its winning ways following a difficult season of growth that saw the Lady Eagles finish 7-22 overall and go 3-9 in the Little Hawkeye Conference.