More than a game: No softball season means change in way of life for some
The Aldersons celebrate after winning the PIAA Class A Softball Championship over Montgomery in 2010.
The Simms family poses with the 2018 PIAA Class A softball championship trophy.
The Aldersons pose for a photo outside of The Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Chartiers-Houston has taken spring trips to the south to begin the season the past several seasons.
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West Greene softball coach Bill Simms, left, is congratulated by family after the team’s 5-2 win against DuBois Central Catholic in the PIAA Class A semifinals in 2016.
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West Greene’s Kylie Simms prepares to tag DuBois Central Catholic’s Mia Meholick for an out in the PIAA Class A semifinals at Slippery Rock University on June 11, 2019.
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Chartiers-Houston’s Kaci Alderson is shown making a play against South Fayette during a game at Allison Elementary School.
Bill Simms took one swing after another, hitting softballs for infield and outfield practice to his West Greene High School team.
The Pioneers’ coach carried on a conversation with his daughter, Kylie, who was West Greene’s starting catcher for each of the past two seasons, as he blistered balls around the diamond.
In the other dugout, Chartiers-Houston softball coach Tricia Alderson was talking to some players on her team. Her assistant coach and husband, Dan, led the rest of the players, including their daughter Kaci, through a hitting drill. Their youngest child, Kelli, had the camera rolling through some of the pregame routine and was patiently waiting for the game to start.
A non-section game last April held little meaning in the grand scheme of things. It didn’t have any bearing on the standings. It didn’t impact seedings for the WPIAL playoffs two months later.
The only real implication was to see how the two small-school powers would play against comparable competition.
West Greene’s back-and-forth, 11-9 win was Simms’ 200th career victory – something he wanted to downplay.
Yet, the games are never meaningless to both the Simms and Alderson families. It’s not just softball season. It’s not just from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. every day from March through June.
Softball is a big part of daily life for the two families.
“It’s been a whole family affair for us for a long time,” Tricia Alderson said. “We all are together a lot. Not a lot of people can say they have their family this much involved. We take a walk every day around our neighborhood and people say to us that they haven’t seen us during this time of year in forever.”
That’s because softball – and life as we know it – has come to a screeching halt because of the coronavirus pandemic. Everybody’s hope for an ever-so-small season was dashed when the PIAA canceled the spring sports season last Thursday. It had suspended both spring sports and the winter sports championships for nearly a month before canceling.
It has left a void for players, coaches, fans, and the Aldersons and Simms families.
“We honestly feel like we are in a movie,” Tricia Alderson said. “It’s just been crazy because we’re used to just being on the go constantly. There are days where you don’t really believe it is all happening.”
Each family was looking forward to their daughter’s senior season. But the pain of no season goes beyond that.
Bill Simms was looking forward to his two daughters, senior Kylie and freshman Emily, to enjoy one year together on the same team. The Pioneers were also trying to become only the third team in WPIAL history to win five consecutive district titles. The other two were Sto-Rox and Hempfield.
But Emily Simms injured her knee in junior varsity basketball and the coronavirus has put a stop to everything.
“I was punched right in the gut with her basketball injury and then knocked on my rear end because of this virus,” Simms said. “Athletics have always been a big part of my life.”
Tricia and Dan Alderson have been coaching together since 2010, when the Bucs won a state championship. Prior to joining his wife as a softball coach, Dan had a 133-44 record as the Chartiers-Houston baseball coach from 2001 to 2009. He led the Bucs to the WPIAL playoffs every season, three section titles and a pair of state semifinal appearances.
“It was a very difficult but easy decision,” Dan Alderson remembers of making the switch from baseball to softball and head coach to assistant. “It was difficult because I had so many players who were like sons to me, but then I would come home and see things I was missing out on. I didn’t want to miss out on that with my own kids. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
Kaci, a Mercyhurst recruit, wasn’t giving up hope of her final year of high school softball. She had been hitting off a tee into a pop-up net, hitting Wiffle balls and taking ground balls in the family’s driveway and on the quiet street they live on.
“Probably the toughest thing of this situation is that this was the last time we were going to coach Kaci,” Dan Alderson said. “We’ve coached her since she’s been five years old. Not to potentially have that closure, that one last game or that one last family embrace makes it difficult. But putting things into perspective, that stuff is secondary.”
Kelli, who just turned 14, completes the family’s involvement to the winning program. In addition to her camera duties, she handles the team’s social media account, takes pictures and is in charge of operating the music during home games. She was given her birthday present prior the season – a new video camera to document the year.
“Not a lot of people can say they have their whole family involved this much,” Tricia Alderson said. “We feel fortunate for staying happy and still being able to work. But there are days where you are upset. Days where you are sad. Days where you are angry. It’s been rough because Chartiers-Houston softball has been such a huge part of our family on a daily basis.”