Lacee Ogletree is an ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism student covering Westwood High School for AzPreps365.com

Alyssa Dale is a Westwood alum who has returned as head coach and is rebuilding the softball program. 

The team has faced many years of struggles, but they have since been improving after Dale took on the position. In Dale’s first year as head coach the team had a rocky season going 3-15, but in her second year as head coach, the team improved to 8-10. This is Dale’s third year as coach and the Warriors are off to a 5-5 start, already more than halfway to last year's win total. 

The culture around Westwood softball is changing.

“Westwood has been an easy win in a lot of other teams minds right, and so it's hard to convince these 15, 16, 17-year-old girls that we're not just an easy win for other teams, but I think we're doing it. I think we're convincing our own team that we are capable, and we can win, and we can make these changes,” Dale said. "We're not just a pushover and we're not just an easy game on your schedule. It's not just treated as batting practice or anything like that. It's that we're going to be competitive or we're going to play harder, and we're here to win." 

Athletic director of Westwood, Brady Pond, said he’s noticed changes and the areas of refinement that Dale has made.

“She has done an incredible job of recruiting on campus, providing off season programming, and getting our student-athletes excited about the direction of the program,” said Pond.

Dale is no stranger to the Westwood community, growing up only four blocks away from her alma mater. She is trying to utilize her connections to get girls to play softball younger and get them loving the game sooner. 

“Obviously I am from here. I went to school here, so I have connections in the community, so I am trying to utilize those connections in the community to get girls playing softball younger, and get them loving the game sooner, so that I don’t have quite so much skill development to do by the time they get to me, and that’s kind of the long term plan to really turn things around here is we need them to start younger, and we need them to be better sooner, so that we have a better varsity team on the field,” said Dale.

Teressa Scott, former right fielder for Westwood, traded her cleats for a whistle as she went from playing for Dale last season to standing beside Dale as an assistant coach this season. 

“It’s kind of weird, because I used to always listen to everything she says," said Scott. "And now I’m teaching more people just like her, so it’s like I’m climbing up the ladder." 

Westwood is in good hands with Dale as a coach and an educator. 

“I tell my girls all the time I'm in year three and I'm planning to be here another 30, so this really is where I see myself finishing my career and I'm teaching here and coaching here and it makes sense to keep doing both of those things, at least until it doesn't make sense anymore," Dale said. "I'm super happy and feel super blessed to be where I am, and so my goals are just to every single year get a little bit better and make this program a little bit stronger."