The All-Army softball team arrived at Fort Benning Wednesday as it began a two-week training camp, where 15 out of 25 players will be selected to play at the Armed Forces Championship Sept. 17 in Pensacola, Fla.
Head coach Victor Rivera said the team will use Gowdy Field through Sept. 7 to practice and play against Columbus club teams.
The All-Army team has prepared for the Armed Forces Championship at Gowdy Field for the last four years. Kelly Pulliam, Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation marketing assistant, said this will be the last year Fort Benning hosts the camp before it moves to Fort Sill, Okla.
Michael Dochwat, a third baseman who has played on the All-Army team eight times since 2001, said Fort Benning has “provided the tools” to allow the team play its best. Dochwat said each year the team has trained at Fort Benning, it has won either gold or silver at the Armed Forces tournament.
Ron Colombo, who is getting his first opportunity to make the All-Army team, had a similar impression.
“This is one of the nicest facilities I’ve been at, if not the nicest,” Colombo said. “With All-Army, you want to train in the conditions you’re going to play in. The heat down here is similar to what we’re going to be playing in so this is where we need to be practicing.” Dochwat said the two-week trial usually proves to be more than what first-time players expect, mentally even more than physically.
“We try to talk to guys who have never been on the team to help them prepare their minds for a setting like this,” he said. “It does get frustrating for a guy when he goes and only gets one hit in the game, comes back and beats himself up. He just needs to eliminate that, drive on and let his skills take over.”
Colombo said the most important skill needed to have the opportunity to make the team is the consistent ability to hit.
“Batting practice, batting practice, batting practice,” he said about getting ready for the trial camp. “Getting the fundamentals of my swing down. Hitting is what separates you from any other ball player.”
Ultimately, he said, those who survive the two weeks of almost non-stop play, will deserve to make the team.
“I need to stay healthy,” he said “A lot of people start out on fire and then … the heat wears them down and hamstrings or shoulders get sore.”
