As we wrap up our CAA Junior High softball season, we spoke to Coach Bryan Weiss from Legacy Traditional – Surprise about their Division 3 Junior High State Championship victory. Coach Bryan has been coaching softball at Legacy for four years, together with Coach TJ who has been coaching with him for three years and Coach Glenn who recently joined the team.
Recap of the Championship game
Going into the championship game we knew Paradise would give us a challenge, especially because this is the third time we would be meeting during the year. Leading up to the championship game we were fortunate enough for three of our pitchers to pitch multiple innings in the previous games. Our pitchers were all fresh and our offense really helped them out by putting up 10 runs. Defensively we were solid everywhere, we were confident in our team from top to bottom.
Looking back at their season
Coach Bryan said their season was both very exciting and challenging. “Covid brought many challenges that we as a team had to overcome”, he said. “There were a couple times when girls from the team were quarantined. Many of our girls believed so much in our opportunity to repeat as state champions that they elected for online school during the season to lessen their chance of exposure and quarantine”. Ultimately, he could not be more proud of the group as they completed their goal of winning state in back to back years and extending their winning streak to 31 games. “This year we will be graduating 7 players, so winning state was a great sendoff for them”.
Player of the game
Izzy Ray was named our player of the game. On the field Izzy sets the tone for the team and brings the energy, she is best under pressure and excels in the clutch. Defensively Izzy is a wall. However more than anything on the field Izzy is a bigger asset off the field, as she is a model student and is a role model for our younger players. Izzy practices even harder than she plays, her attitude and hustle is infectious at practice and makes all the girls work harder!
What it means to be part of the CAA
Coach Bryan says that being a part of the CAA brings a great sense of pride to their program, and they hope that they are representing Legacy and the west valley as best as possible.
Best piece of advice for the team
The best piece of advice Coach Bryan can give his team members is to “enjoy every minute of your time in sports, they are some of the best memories you will ever have”.
Their goals for next year? 3 in a row!
Congrats on your win and keep up the good work, ladies!