JBSA-Lackland hosts All-Air Force men and women’s softball camps

  • Published
  • By Jose Garza III
  • JBSA-Lackland Public Affairs

Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland is currently hosting both All-Air Force Men’s and Women’s Softball Camps through Sept. 17, 2016.

The men’s camp will be held at the Warhawk Field and women’s camp will be held at Diamond Field No. 1.

Twenty-four Airmen out of 51 applicants were invited to the men’s softball camp and 25 applicants out of 37 were chosen for the women’s softball camp. Fifteen athletes will fill both teams’ rosters, and those teams will compete against All-Army, All-Navy and All-Marine Corps softball teams in the Armed Forces Men and Women’s Softball Tournament Sept. 18-23 at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston.

Master Sgt. Scott Harris, Headquarters Air Education Training Command first sergeant, is a first- year coach for the men’s team and Senior Master Sgt. Salomon Vieyra, 690th Intelligence Support Squadron superintendent, will be leading the women for the third consecutive year.

“I truly enjoy participating in sports as being part of a team has taught me great life lessons,” said Harris, who was a member of the All-Air Force men’s softball team from 1999-2006. “The competition was great, but the real takeaway for me was the lifelong friendships gained and mentorship received.”

Vieyra is excited that the women’s softball camp will be held at his permanent duty station, he said.

“It’s always exciting to travel to practice and play but having everything here in my own backyard is good,” he explained.

Both coaches will be aiming to return their respective Air Force softball teams to Armed Forces glory. The women’s team will be chasing their second Armed Forces Women’s Softball Championship in three years and the men’s team will be looking to reclaim its first Armed Forces Men’s Softball Title since 2011.

Vieyra recognizes the challenges that lie ahead in getting in a women’s team that averaged three and a half runs in the 2015 tournament back to glory.

“We have to hit the ball better,” he said. “We had all aspects of the game covered, but last year our offense wasn’t there and we didn’t produce the runs we needed to win. The team has to average 10-15 runs to be competitive, and I always tell them the goal is to score 15 runs. If we average that, then we are going to win 99 percent of our games.

While the men’s team hasn’t been a gold medal team in five years, Harris doesn’t believe drastic changes need to be implemented to the roster.

“We are dedicated to working hard every day and keeping the team focused on the end goal,” he said. “At the end of the day, the players are the ones who have to hit and catch, and the coach’s job is to make sure they are prepared.”

The coaches acknowledged the tough process of selecting the best athletes to invite to both training camps, and they expect each Airman to compete to earn a spot on both 15-player rosters, which will be finalized Tuesday.

“I expect the Airmen to stay focused on the end goal,” Harris said. “If those things happen then the competition will be fun to watch and making final cuts will be challenging.”

Vieyra intends for the Airmen to build relationships while competing against each other.

“I want the veterans to mentor the rookie players while rooming with each other,” he said. “I want to make this camp different by making them get along while fighting for a spot on the team.”

For information on All-Air Force Softball Camp practice schedules, call 671-2632. Visit http://www.myairforcelife.com/sports for information on registering for  Air Force Sports programs.