Cheering as big a part of softball as hitting, pitching

Kennedy Byxbee was born to play softball. She can walk the walk — Byxbee is a defensive whiz at shortstop for Scottsdale Chaparral — and boy can she talk the talk.

“I’m definitely one of the louder ones,” Byxbee said.

VIDEO: Corona del Sol players make some noise!

That didn’t play as well for the talkative senior in the fall, when Byxbee was a member of the school’s golf team. She could never yell, and available ears were basically limited to her playing partners, whether they liked it or not.

“I’m always talking to the girls I’m playing with,” she said. “They probably get annoyed.”

But on the softball field, Byxbee is right at home.

Little League baseball players want batters, not broken ladders. And they’re looking for pitchers, not belly itchers. But that’s generally where it stops.

Not so with softball.

Incessant chatter, cheers and songs are as much a part of the game as line drives and wild pitches — and they give softball a flavor all its own.

At Chaparral, how far you get on the bases determines what kind of chant is used.

It doesn’t get more specific than at Tempe Corona del Sol, when cheers for ‘Ash-ley Han-sen’ ring out from the dugout when the team’s most dangerous batter is at the dish.

And an out is never just an out when it produces a series of prearranged hand signals and high-fives from outfielders and infielders.

The cheers and signals are learned by many girls in the Amateur Softball Association long before high school. The players also incorporate cheers learned from other teams, or the most devoted chanters can go on the Internet for a wider selection.

While it may sound like an exhaustive process, rest assured area softball players are practicing grounders more than cheers.

Paradise Valley coach Dave Moore said his team usually gets together for about five or 10 minutes at a practice before the season starts to determine what rituals they will use.

Two seasons ago, his team made up a dance. This year it’s less dancing, more talking.

Apache Junction coach Ed Matlosz wasn’t sure what to expect when he switched over from coaching baseball to softball.

“When I used to coach baseball, I would hear them and say, ‘Man, they must practice that stuff for 30 minutes a day,’ ” he said. “And then I learn they just get it off the Internet.”

Allison Andrade is a former college softball player and now spends her days building the softball program at Chandler Perry.

She’s been around the noise pretty much her entire life and sees its benefit.

Nothing’s changed this season. In fact, the Perry squad has actual cheerleaders on its team, so there’s no shortage of chatter.

“Basically, it comes down to the camaraderie,” Andrade said. “I’m a big believer in making the team like a family. (The encouragement) helps during the game and off the field as well.”

The minute the noise dies down, Andrade becomes concerned.

“I like to hear the chatter,” she said. “If I don’t hear it people aren’t into the game.”

Players must always be on the same page though. Knowing which cheers are available is a must.

“One girl goes ‘Boom chicka-boom, rock that pitch to the moon,’ ” Matlosz said. “And then the other stopped her and said that was a junior high cheer. So I guess there are rules.”

Chaparral coach Wes Little has been in his share of baseball games. On that diamond, most of the talk generally has to do with strategy or awareness.

Little said the baseball players are more nonverbal, comparing a softball player’s chatter to a chest bump between guys.

“It’s different than boys,” Little said. “They push each other in different ways. (The softball players) love to hear their team rooting them on.”

It doesn’t bother Little. In fact, he barely knows it’s happening.

“I’m so focused on what I’m doing I rarely hear it,” he said.

Chattering isn’t for everybody. There are still those players who do better by staying quiet.

Corona del Sol coach Jeep Ray doesn’t care either way. It’s about getting results.

“Some girls just don’t like to talk as much,” she said. “And that’s fine. Loud or not, I just want to know they are focused and concentrating.”

CHANT CHART
Keep your ears open for some of these popular softball cheers:
• “I see a gap and (player’s name) is going shopping.”

• “Hey, hey, what do you say? Hit the ball the other way.”
 

• To a runner on third: ‘We miss you will you please come home?’
 

• While shaking the fence for effect: “Hey pitcher what’s the matter? Can’t you stand a little chatter? High ball, low ball, inside, outside. High ball, low ball, inside, outside.”
 

• Sung in Seven Dwarfs’ fashion: “Hi ho, hi ho. It’s off to first we go. Then second, then third, then home again. Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho.”
 

• ”Extra! Extra! Read all about it. (Player’s name) got a hit, no doubt about it.”
 

• “1, 2, 3, 4. Hit the ball so we can score. 5, 6, 7, 8. We won’t stop till we reach home plate.”