Prince Edward County High School’s varsity softball team took another step this year in its quest to return to an era of winning seasons and long postseason runs, with more progress still to come.

The Lady Eagles finished the season with a 9-11 overall record, including a 1-1 run in the Region 2A tournament.

“I think overall the team started to mesh well later on down towards the end of the season and that when you go through a four-game losing streak, it’s like the end-all, be-all for this young group of kids,” Prince Edward Head Coach LaDonia Mujahid said.

She noted she is still in the process of helping the girls understand what it takes to win consistently, to really believe that they do not have to accept losing seasons.

“I’m still working through a progression of trying to get some of these kids to understand that winning isn’t end-all, be-all, but it will feel great at the end if you do start winning, but they have to learn how to win first …” she said.

She recalled three years ago, when she started coaching the Lady Eagles, that her players told her they were tired of losing.

“I said, ‘It’s OK,’” she said. “I said, ‘But you guys have to understand that getting a new coach doesn’t mean you’re going to win overnight.’ I said, ‘You have to do more than just come out and put the new uniform on. You have to come to practice, you have to work hard, you have to be committed, and that’s just something that the kids aren’t used to doing.’ Some days, we don’t even have every person at practice.”

But she can see their progress, and reflecting on this season, she said, “I think it’s a step forward.”

She noted that moving forward, the team will miss the contributions of graduating seniors Da’Mya Harris, Taylor “Mac” Morris and Whitney Long, but she is excited by what Prince Edward will bring back.

“We’ll have Jaden (Capati) back in the circle,” the coach said. “Aly (Lucas) will be back, and hopefully this summer I’ll get a chance to work with both of them to try to work on some leg drive and arm speed. Kyla (Edmonds) will possibly be returning. She was a very good player for us this year as well.”