Marlboro’s 10U All-Star softball team hosted a pair of familiar opponents in the Mid-Hudson All-Star Tournament,

Each side rooted for the other as Highland, New Paltz and Marlboro competed for the crown.

The tournament setting offered a higher level of competition for the three teams that battled all season long. Marlboro outlasted Highland by one run to be crowned tournament champions, after the visitors nearly came back with a cluster of two-out runs.

As the coach of one of three 10U squads in Marlboro Youth Softball, Sue Tucker credits the organization’s healthy internal competition as the strongest fuel for development. She and her squad wanted to keep the momentum at the close of a successful spring season.

“We’re more than playing the game, we’re about building the character of these young girls,” said Tucker, adding, “They soak it up.”

Highland coach Leilani Lyster saw her 8U girls rise to the occasion of their first All-Star experience. The win-or-go-home setting was especially hard, after a season of lower stakes against the very opponents awaiting them in tournament play.

All season, Highland had played against older, taller, more experienced opponents. Without a 10U team in the small Highland Babe Ruth league, the girls are forced to play up in their softball league, if they want to play at all.

“They played against kids much older and bigger than them. It didn’t phase them, and they learned way more that way,” said Lyster.

Unlike in the regular season, each squad had to win to keep playing in this tournament. Highland soon figured out the stakes, the advice of an entire season swirling through helmets and between softball glove webbing.

Not only was Lyster’s voice in their heads, but the entire team of Highland coaches: Terrance Wilson, Ray Magee, Kenny Southworth, Joe Fletcher, Kahlil Jamal, and Lyster’s daughter, assistant coach Caitlin Werba.

Donning new uniforms for the occasion, Highland rose to the moment against Marlboro, meeting the tournament hosts in the final round. There Highland was getting the hits, making the plays, making practice pay off.

“There’s no better feeling,” said Lyster. “That’s the best part. Everything you’re teaching them and telling them, you see them in the big game, and it sticks.”

Yet these tournaments do more for smaller youth programs than trophies and accolades. At the close of the season, the visibility is most meaningful.

She credits the parents and coaches who went above and beyond for their 10U/8U hybrid team, keeping them on task, motivated, and prepared every day.

“The more exposure they get in these tournaments, the more people will see and want to play,” said Lyster of the potential for the league to grow.

Tucker’s girls give 100 percent in every practice and game as they represent Marlboro Youth Baseball & Softball. The attitude transfers to competition too.

As Lyster noted of Marlboro’s players, “They carry themselves very well. They’re a great example of how to act on the field.”

These teams and tournaments highlight the future of girls’ sports. Bullying-free and positive coaching build softball communities across town lines, woven with skills that translate beyond the diamond.