BO B PR AT TE
Hemet High's historic CIF softball title win on Saturday, June 1, was even more remarkable considering the school's first championship in the sport was achieved at the end of graduation week, and during the frantic last week of school. The change of routine, not surprisingly, was a concern for Coach Jeff Galloway. He coaches with a lot of friendly enthusiasm to win. The pressure was on. The Hemet High volleyball and water polo girls teams already had won CIF crowns. A win by the strong softball team would be a third girls title in a single school year. The busy week included a Tuesday, May 28, semifinal win over Patriot High. Graduation in the Ramona Bowl was Thursday, May 30, followed by the all-night Grad Night event on campus. Galloway and his coaching staff, former Hemet High softball stars Jessica Beaver and Erinn Webb, scheduled practices for Wednesday and Thursday. Graduating seniors were dismissed from practice early Thursday and were allowed to attend Grad Night, which ran from the Thursday graduation ceremony until Friday morning. Galloway held a full practice Friday at 1:30 p.m., which gave the Grad Night partiers the morning to sleep. On Saturday, they made Hemet High history by routing a strong Santa Monica team 16-2, which capped off a remarkable week for the team’s five seniors. He believes all but one attended Grad Night. Galloway does not like distractions and fosters a commitment among his players to the team, but said he understood the importance of accommodating graduation events. “It's something that happens only once in their lifetime,” he said. “It's something they have to be able to enjoy.” Contact Bob Pratte at 951-763-3452, [email protected] or 3400 Wentworth Drive, Hemet CA 92545. Find Bob’s blog at blog. pe.com/bob-pratte and follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PE.BobPratte and Twitter: @bpratte