It was a rollercoaster week of emotions for the Edwardsburg softball team.

You see, the Eddies were busy trying to defend their Division 2 district championship when real life stepped in and dealt this team of exception young ladies a blow.

Junior catcher Courtney Ryker lost her grandmother, a huge supporter of the Edwardsburg softball program, last Monday.

Anyone who has played high school sports knows just how close a team can get.

The Eddies are not exception.

So when the team lost someone like Linda Gibson it hurt deeply.

Veteran head coach Randy Brooks knew what to do. He told his catcher to take whatever time she needed to deal with the loss of her grandmother.

The rest of the team, while still preparing for the postseason, was hurting just as badly.

But as a collective unit, they pulled together and stayed the course, not only through a tough week of preparation, but during the stress of competition.

It did not seem to affect either Ryker or her teammates until the Eddies had accomplished what they had set out to do — win a championship.

Then the built up emotion was too much for Ryker, who burst into tears shortly following the last out of the championship game.

“I was thinking about my grandmother,” Ryker said about the final out. “It was really hard, but I had my teammate to keep me up. I kind of depended on them today to keep me going and they did.”

The Eddies all wore daisies in their hair as a tribute to Gibson.

“It was her favorite flower,” Ryker said.

There are not a lot of players that would have agreed to speak with me about such an emotional subject.

But Ryker is no ordinary player according to Brooks.

“She (Linda) has been to every game that Courtney and Kaylee have ever game I can remember that they have played,” Brooks said. “I know when I went and watched a 10U team with Kaylee Ryker catching, I sat right next to Linda. She has been a huge supporter of the program since the the girls have been in high school. She is a friend of my dad’s.

“Earlier this year she turned 70 and we gave her a game ball that said “Eddies’ best fan.” We all signed it. So it has been an emotional week for us.”

Brooks said that the team was able to maintain its focus due to the fact that it is on a mission.

“We did not fare well at regionals last year,” he said.

Brooks told Courtney to be with her family.

She came to practice on Tuesday and was ready to go when she arrived at Edwardsburg High School Saturday morning before the team made the short trip over to Niles for the district tournament.

“She has got goals and her grandmother would have wanted her to play,” Brooks said. “She would have wanted her to be as focused as she was. The Ryker girls are tough girls.”

Edwardsburg will remain on that mission as it hosts the Division 3 regional tournament Saturday.

That mission will take on extra meaning as Linda Gibson will certainly remain on the mind of the Edwardsburg players as they face Olivet in the first game at 10 a.m.

A win will propel the Eddies into the regional championship game against either No. 7-ranked Lakeshore or No. 4-ranked and state runner-up Vicksburg.

No matter the outcome on Saturday, the Eddies have shown us all what the true meaning of team.

They have hung together through one of the toughest times of their young lives.

I wish Edwardsburg, and especially Courtney Ryker the best on Saturday.

With Linda Gibson watching over the Eddies, hopefully it can keep their mission on track.

 

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com.