The Westside softball team has only three seniors on the roster this year, but they are extremely important parts of the team. Amaya Labs, Jordyn Shields, and Maggie Cecil are playing in their last season as Warriors.

Coach Leapley has been coaching these girls for the past four years and he explains how enjoyable it has been.

“It’s been great having the seniors. I have been watching them since they were freshmen. Maggie. She is always smiling and having fun doing her TikTok. Maggie has been a joy,” Leapley said. “Amaya. What can I say? Amaya will let you know right away what she is feeling and thinking. Her face says it all. We always joke that we need a shirt with the faces she makes. Shields. She may have said 20 words in 4 years, which is not a bad thing. She has always gone about her business, stuck to herself, and respected me and her teammates”

Amaya Labs is a senior right fielder for the team, she talks about her favorite moments and memories from the past four years

“My favorite memory from the past four years is probably when I hit my first home run during the Burke game against my best friends from my travel ball team,” Labs said.

Maggie Cecil is a senior second baseman, and she has made lots of memories over the years but her favorite memory on the team was recently, the Norfolk game.

“My favorite memory from playing on Westside softball was beating Norfolk on their senior night and the best ride home,” Cecil said.

Jordyn Shields favorite memory was state last year.  She is a first baseman for the team, and is strong at the plate.

“My favorite memory from Westside softball was going to state with the team my junior year,” Shields said.

Shields plans to play softball in college, but she doesn’t know just where yet.

“I am undecided on where I will attend college but I would like to play softball wherever I go,” Shields said.

Maggie doesn’t know where she wants to go to college yet, but her heart is set on playing softball in college.

“At this time I don’t know where I’m going to college, but I am planning on playing softball wherever I end up,” Cecil said.

After highschool, Amaya has plans to attend the University of Mississippi. She will continue her academic career but won’t be playing softball. But will still be involved in sports.

“I plan to attend Ole Miss for college, I will be majoring in criminology with a minor in forensics” Labs said “I won’t be playing softball in college, but sports are really important to me, so I picked a school that has good sports programs.”

Cecil is a big part of the team and she always lifts everyone up. Her biggest piece of advice for incoming players is to give it your all.

“One piece of advice I have for incoming players is to go all out all the time and always give 110%, but also have fun,” Cecil said.

Shield is a great player and role model for the team. Her advice is to make the most of the time you have.

“​​One piece of advice is to have fun and make new friends. It goes by quicker than you think,” Shields said.

Labs has been on the varsity team all four years of high school, and she knows what it is like to be a new player. Her advice for freshmen is to always try to do your best.

“My advice for incoming players is to always give your full effort when you’re playing. I think it’s better to mess up when giving full effort instead of half effort,” Labs said.

Cecil has had a great four years on the team, but one thing that she wants to take with her as she leaves is knowing that if you keep up the hard work it will pay off.

“One thing I will take from playing at westside is to believe in yourself and always have an attitude because you never know what could happen,” Cecil said.

Coach Leapley wants to make sure the program is still remembered by the seniors even if they aren’t attending high school anymore. He wants to make sure there are things they take with them as they leave for college.

“They are dedicated to the softball program and have helped build it since we took over. The best advice is to surround yourself with good people,” Leapley said.

The girls are always supported by Leapley, and they still have games ahead of them. All the girls have personal and team goals for the rest of the season.

Labs has one main goal for the season and it was to beat the team that knocked the girls out of the state tournament last season. The Westside girls lost 1-3 against Norfolk, and they were ready for a comeback.

“The main goal that I had for this season was to beat Norfolk, which we did,” Labs said “My goal for the rest of the season is to be in Norfolks district, and beat them again.”

As the season is running to an end, Cecil has one personal goal but also a team goal.

“One of my personal goals for the season is to hit my first varsity homerun, and my team goal is to go back to state,” Cecil said.

The girls had a blast at state last year even though they didn’t make it far. Shields’ goal is to make it back to state again.

“One team goal would be to get back to state and as an individual, I  want to have as much fun as possible for my last year,” Shields said.

The girls will play in their last week of regular season games against Millard North and Millard South. Catch them in action for their last couple games as Westside Warriors.