NEW HAVEN—It’s human nature, right?

When you spend your entire high school career grinding in the dirt, checking your footing on the infield skin, and bracing for hot shots at the hot corner, you build a certain identity. You have your mindset locked in. You have your heart set on a specific patch of dirt.

So when Abbott Tech softball coach Jon Nadeau told two of his veteran seniors—the heart and soul throwing partners who went second-to-third for years—that they are moving to the grass?

Yeah. It’s human nature to be a little disappointed. It’s human nature to look around during the very first preseason scrimmage and think, “Wait… why am I tracking fly balls today?”

That was the exact shock that hit Delany Tonner and Ava Ramirez back in March. Tonner had her eyes completely set on third base. Instead, she and Ramirez found themselves staring back at the infield from the vast expanse of the Wolverine outfield.

They weren’t happy. Not at first.

But if you wandered past the Abbott Tech dugout this spring, you probably heard something else that speaks to human nature—specifically, the 1983 Michael Jackson classic.

The duo sang it constantly. They kept the energy high, the vibes loose, and the voices loud. And on Friday afternoon, after the Wolverines captured the Connecticut Tech Conference (CTC) championship trophy, the King of Pop’s lyrics felt less like a dugout sing-along and more like a prophetic theme song for a pair of selfless leaders.

If they say, why, why? Tell ’em that it’s human nature.

Shifting the Perspective

Nadeau thought he was going to have a pretty good team this season, and knew what changes he had to make to the Wolverines even stronger.

He knew his two seniors weren’t going to be happy about it.

“I moved two of our infielders from last year, two seniors, into the outfield and they weren’t so happy about it,” Nadeau said. “Delany and Ava, and I just said, ‘Look, I think if we’re going to actually win this thing, I think I need you guys in the outfield.’ They accepted that and embraced it. Ava makes two huge catches today.”

THe players just had to get over the shock.

“My first reaction was I just wasn’t expecting it,” Tonner admitted, standing on the field with a championship medal around her neck, reflecting on the preseason move. “I was practicing third base. I was ready to go. The first practice we had, he put me out there and I’m like, wonder why I’m practicing in the outfield today?’It really was a shock, and at first, I was upset.”

It’s a tough pill for any senior to swallow. But true leadership isn’t defined by where you stand on the diamond; it’s defined by how you respond when the team needs a shift.

“Eventually, towards the season, I realized he didn’t do that because I’m not good,” Tonner said. “He did it because I can play wherever he needs me. He knew that having me and Ava out there was the best decision for the team. Obviously, we just wanted what’s best for the team. We wanted this—and that’s what happened.”

For Ramirez, the transition forced a quick mental adjustment. In a game that can so often breed individual statistics, she looked at the bigger picture.

“In the beginning, it did change my perspective on playing the game,” Ramirez said. “But it also kind of shifted my mentality from… it’s not about me, it’s about we. It’s about us as a team. If it means that I’m going to play a little farther back, I’m going to be a little farther from everyone else, then so be it.”

Not only did they accept it, they mastered it. Ramirez tracked down two crucial catches in the grass during the championship game, proving that those extra hours working on fundamental mechanics and outfield footwork paid off exactly when the stakes were highest.

Setting the Stage for the Underclassmen

What Tonner and Ramirez might not fully realize—or are perhaps too modest to take credit for—is the invaluable message their sacrifice sent to a remarkably young Abbott Tech roster.

This is a program that has endured its fair share of lean years. When Tonner and Ramirez were freshmen, the Wolverines were on the wrong end of some brutal, lopsided losses. This spring, the roster welcomed several underclassmen who had quite literally never picked up a softball before.

“When we were freshmen, we didn’t even know how to use the glove, to be really honest,” Ramirez laughed.

“We had some freshmen at the beginning of the year who couldn’t even use a glove, and during warmups today, we had little to no balls dropped,” Tonner added. “It’s incredible, everyone’s growth. We’d love to take credit for it, that we helped them, but they got there themselves because they just watched us and always watched our energy.”

That is called leading by example.

When a freshman looks out into the outfield and sees two decorated, vocal senior leaders flying around, diving for balls, and singing Michael Jackson at the top of their lungs after being asked to switch positions, it sets a cultural standard. It teaches a locker room that the name on the front of the jersey always trumps the position number on the scorecard.

“I try and see the glass—with every single loss that we’ve taken —half full instead of half empty, take it as a learning opportunity,” Ramirez said of their journey from the bottom of the league to the very top. “We came into the mentality of this game that it doesn’t matter if we win or lose. As long as we put our entire everything on the field, it’ll all be good.”

It turned out to be better than good. It was golden.

They may have started the spring questioning the view from the grass, but by Friday afternoon, Tonner and Ramirez had the best view in the state: looking out at a celebration they built from the outfield up.

And as for the smiles and tears that came in the championship celebration?

Well, that’s just human nature.

(From The Dugout is a regular column written by CT Softball Blog Publisher John Nash)

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