The 2016 softball season was full of ups and downs for the Lady Falcons, according to head coach Bill Nye.

The season started out with a couple of hard losses to Saguaro and Snowflake before the team bounced back to go on a five-game winning streak to build up some momentum.

The tide turned quickly, though, with an equal number of losses to follow. From there, the season bounced back and forth as the team spent half of the time struggled with errors and the other half nailing all of the fundamentals. As Nye pointed out many times throughout the season, the Falcons could hang with pretty much any team they came up against when they were having one of their “on” days.

But while wins and losses are expected, Nye said that the disappointment in this season came with the need to forfeit four games due to ineligibility. The Falcons first had to write off a game against Bradshaw Mountain in mid-March before handing uncontested wins to a trio of teams to wrap up the season.

In the end, the Falcons came in at 2-8 in section play and 8-18 overall.

“I really felt bad for the individuals who didn’t get in any trouble this season,” Nye said. “I’m tired of being politically correct about it. The bottom line is, if you break the rules, if you don’t make the grades, you don’t play. It’s not fair to the kids who do the work every single day. They want to play. They did everything right.”

But while Nye was frustrated with this past seasons setbacks, he said there were still good things to pull from the past few months.

“On the positive side, when we first opened up with those five wins in a row, that was fun,” Nye said. “We were hoping to expand on that, but we had some letdowns. Coming back and winning that Youngker game, that’s when I said ‘Hey, look at what you ladies can do.’ We lost five or six games by one run. In that Youngker game, we didn’t have one bad inning and, boom, look at what we can do.”

Nye said that he can handle a season of losses, but he’s not too happy when the things that were hurting the team, attitude and ineligibility, had nothing to do with the game being played.

“That has to change,” he continued.

To help build a stronger team unity and buy-in for next season, Nye already has the eighth grade girls working out with their soon-to-be new teammates at the high school. He said he wants the younger girls to see what they can be a part of while making the older girls understand that they’ve got an entire team relying on them to do their fair share of the work.

“Those eighth grade girls, I’ve had them for years,” Nye said. “They know the system, they know what it takes to win. I think they’ll be a great addition to the team.”

Looking ahead, Nye said he’s already decided on his captain for 2017. It’s going to be the pitcher the Flacons have relied on for two seasons, Ashlin Lawyer.

“I’ve got four seniors next year, so those remaining seniors need to be leaders, too,” Nye said. “I’m also hoping that a couple girls who did not play this year will miss the game and want to come back out. I’d just really like everyone to come out and give it a shot.”

For the first time in years, the Falcons should have a pair of pitchers to rely on, giving the ladies on the mound a chance to alternate.

“We’ve got a lot of possibilities out there, but you’ve got to play by the rules,” Nye said. “We’ve got a lot of talent. We’re going to play in the off season and stick with it. There are no more excuses. It’s time for us to get back to the state playoffs. They just have to work hard and actually commit to it.”