Boots on the Ground: Byrnes softball finding new ways to have fun on state title run
(PHOTO | KWAI COOK)
Byrnes softball head coach Brandi Aiken came over to the dugout after the third inning of Monday’s upper state championship game vs. Lexington.
Aiken chuckled to herself and shook her head.
Behind Aiken, every player on the Lady Rebel roster got together in a line. The PA speakers started playing a song called “Boots on the Ground.”
The Lady Rebels all looked at one another. Half of them held up plastic fans.
Then, they started dancing. In the middle of the game. Every Lady Rebel stepped to the beat in unison, turning and following each other’s lead. They waved their fans and turned toward the crowd.
It was a spectacle more closely resembling a Savannah Bananas baseball game than a state semifinal softball matchup. The packed Byrnes crowd loved it.
Aiken looked back at her girls.
“Oh, the crazy things that I allow,” she said quietly with a smile.
Don’t blame the players, though. This new tradition — this midgame dance routine — came about as a response to something Aiken jokes about with her girls.
“Well, Coach Aiken, she says we can be a little boring sometimes,” Byrnes pitcher Maddie Wiant said, laughing. “So she wanted us to find ways to get in the zone and have energy. This is what we came up with.”
(PHOTO | KWAI COOK)
“I’ve been coaching for a long, long time,” said Aiken. “Sometimes, these girls work so hard at practice that they forget to have fun. Softball’s exciting for me, so I wanted to find a way for them to do something new and have a little fun with it.”
Aiken handed senior first baseman Ellanie Yarrell and outfielder Memorie Melton the responsibility of teaching the entire team the “Boots on the Ground” line dance. Aiken then went online and purchased a pack of plastic fans for the team to hold up and wave.
A self-professed “old school” coach, it’s Aiken’s way of keeping with the times.
“Some of my alumni have given me a lot of grief because I would’ve never let them do anything like this back in their day,” said Aiken. “But this is a way for me to stay with the times and let these girls have a little fun their own way.”
Letting her players stay loose and have fun? It seems to be working. The Lady Rebels debuted their midgame dance routine Monday night against Lexington. That game ended 10-0 in favor of Byrnes, putting the Lady Rebels one game away from a state championship berth.
Byrnes pitcher Maddie Wiant (left) and head coach Brandi Aiken. (PHOTO | KWAI COOK)
Wiant threw six scoreless innings and hit a three-run homer, while sophomore Addy Waters went 3-4 with four RBIs to secure the win.
“It’s important to kill their momentum, especially in a three-game series like this,” said Wiant. “Now, we don’t have any pressure knowing we already won the first one.”
Perhaps getting to break out a few dance moves during the game helps relieve some pressure, too.
“I’ll tell you this. It’s not what I needed when I was a player,” said Aiken. “But it’s what these girls need. So I’m all for it.”
Byrnes will travel to Lexington on Wednesday for game two, with a chance to wrap up the series and earn a spot in the state championship. First pitch is set for 6:30.
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