Softball took a sabbatical for a few years, but it's a springtime option again for dozens of Wagener-area kids, largely through the volunteer efforts of Halie Starnes, Morgan Foster and Shelby Nisbet.
The three Wagener-Salley High School graduates excelled in the sport years ago and are now helping introduce their younger neighbors to the world of dingers, fly balls and strikes. This time of year, the "rec" league involves plenty of hours at Roy Warner Memorial Park and road time to such locales as Orangeburg, Gilbert, Pelion, Lexington, Swansea and Gaston.
"They are such great role models for the girls, and they just show them… those basic skills that they need, and they are so patient," said mom Erin Fox, whose 7-old-daughter, Harmon, is a part of Nisbet's team, for players 8 and younger.
Foster and Starnes are the coaches of Wagener-Salley's 10-and-under team, supporting a tradition that helped feed players into Wagener-Salley High School's current softball program. "Travel ball" is also a part of the formula for some local players, for action in such locales as Chapin, Orangeburg, Charlotte and Myrtle Beach, along with an occasional trip across the state line.
Foster, a teacher in Busbee Elementary School's special education program, lives in Salley and has a background that includes playing at USC Salkehatchie. Pitching was her softball specialty, and she recalled welcoming the chance to reintroduce recreation-league softball to Wagener.
"My heart is with teaching," she said. "The goal is to keep them playing together as long as they can, on the same team, until they get to high school, because… a team that's been together since second grade is going to be hard to beat once they get older."
She added, "I guess my love and passion for teaching kind of rolls over into the softball field. It's the same love, and I coach basketball and volleyball, too. I just love watching the kids grow and develop, and… those moments where it clicks to them, and they finally get it."
Starnes, a Hollow Creek resident, recalled growing up with seven siblings and having sports as a regular part of the household tradition. Softball time included covering a variety of positions, with pitching and third base among her most frequent stops.
She earns a living as a registered nurse, covering the Aiken area, and recalls that when COVID-19 shut down much of life four years ago, she and Foster responded with a Facebook post, offering local kids free softball instructions — a chance to get out of the house and work up a sweat.
The idea was a hit, and Starnes noted that the offerings came to include much more than the basics of batting, fielding and running the bases. "Treat others like you want to be treated" is an essential message, and applies in situations ranging from being a considerate, prepared teammate to being a good steward of the dugout and not leaving "until that dugout is spotless," she said.
Nisbet, whose pitching performances in high school helped lead to play for USC Sumter and then for St. Andrews University, is also known to some of her players —e past and present — through her lessons in horseback riding.
She said she appreciates "being able to give back" to her young neighbors and to serve as a role model. "Me and my dad… noticed that a lot of these softball teams, there's no girl coaches out there, and so being female in the coaching world, coaching young females, I think… is a big thing for me, to be able to watch that and have that support for those girls."
The Salley resident's support system, years ago, led to her getting some softball time abroad, representing the U.S. on a junior team competing in Australia one summer and Italy the next. "Those girls can get those types of opportunities," Nisbet said.
Recalling the experience in Italy, she pointed out that the language barrier could be overcome, at least in terms of action on the field. "We all could communicate softball to each other without speaking the same language."
Her current situation is a winner, in her estimation. "I really enjoy being out there on the field, and with this job, there's no money… for it… and I coach five days out of the week out of my own time, just to be out there with those girls," Nisbet said.
Jennifer Starnes, the head softball coach at Wagener-Salley High, noted that the three former War Eagle standouts have all remained as boosters of the school's softball program and Foster, when her schedule allows, serves as an unofficial assistant coach.
The head coach confirmed that it's a welcome situation. "You know that they're not just teaching the girls. They're teaching them right, and they're instilling values and making them love the game."
The end result can be that future athletes looking to play at the high school will already have a firm grip on the fundamentals and will be ready for action, thanks to help from former players, she said. "It's a circle. It's a little circle."
