There's no way to sugarcoat it: Melinda Wade is demanding of the Weber softball team, and practice isn't always fun.

"She's definitely tough," junior shortstop Taylor Stroud says. "She makes you pay for your mistakes, but you end up expecting more from yourself rather than mad at her."

How does a player pay for a mistake during practice? She runs, as does the rest of the team.

It was a strong point of emphasis this year for Weber: Mistakes in games are easy to see, but errors in practice often go unnoticed. By making the Warriors accountable for their mistakes in practice as well, Wade pushed Weber farther than most thought it would go — that's why she's The Tribune's softball coach of the year.

"I think they learned that every single ground ball we take and every single swing is important," Wade says. "By the time we got to the pressure situations in the tournament, it was routine for us. Mental toughness is what pushed us through."

The Warriors dropped a second-round game against Taylorsville, but then went on a tear through the one-loss bracket. After taking down Davis 5-3, Weber claimed dominating 10-0 wins over playoff contenders Syracuse and Riverton.

They also managed to eliminate Taylorsville in a consolation bracket rematch, 2-1. Weber's run then came to an end, as Murray got by in the one-loss bracket final 7-6. "Even in that last game, they poured everything they had left," Wade said.

The success has the team fired up for next season.

"It was really rewarding to accomplish something no one thought we would," Stroud says. "She made us believe in ourselves. We got a little taste, now we want the whole thing." —

The teams

All-State softball teams (pdf) • http://bit.ly/l8WEX6

All-State softball MVPs (pdf) • http://bit.ly/lRAmQJ