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Teri Larson had been Maize's only softball coach when she resigned following the 2005 season after a 16-year career.
After a four-season hiatus, she's back, coaching at Maize South. Her youngest daughter, Jody, is a freshman pitcher.
"I was tired at the time," Larson said. "I felt like I was never at home. Jody was still in grade school. I felt like a terrible mom. I was tired, burnt out."
Larson is also an English teacher, so the end of the school year is busy with all the papers to be graded. Couple that with the end of the softball season, and it was too much.
"I couldn't do it anymore," she said. "I stayed in it with pitching lessons and (coaching) summer softball. But now I don't have any little kids at home. It's still tiring and I'm older (46), but I love the game. That has never left me."
Maize South opened its program with wins over Wichita South and Wichita Independent last week.
The Mavericks play in a triangular with Andover at Andale on Thursday.
A rough ending — Arkansas City's end to the 2009 season was painful.
Bishop Carroll no-hit the Bulldogs, winning 2-0 on a two-run homer.
"It was tough to be in the top five in state and not even make it to the (Class 5A) state tournament," Ark City coach Rhonda Hollis said.
Arkansas City is one of 5A's traditional powers, and this season should be no different. Three seniors return, including Liz Grizzle, Taylor Hatfield and Molly Warren.
Sophomore pitcher Kelsey Stewart likely will be the key. She's already getting major interest from Division I colleges, including Alabama, Oklahoma State and Florida.
"One of the things, she is just dominating up there and she keeps her cool," Hollis said. "She's just phenomenal."
Hollis said she has clocked Stewart's fastball at 70 mph, which is pretty rare considering most pitchers are happy to be between 58 and 62 mph.
But if she plays college ball, she'll likely play in the middle infield.
"Her ball moves pretty well, but she has tremendous range as an infielder," Hollis said. "Her speed, she makes plays that at this level, I don't see high school boys making. She's just really athletic."
Arkansas City will play host to Maize in its season-opening doubleheader on Thursday.
City League gets going — The City League opens its season in full force tonight.
Heights and North are at Campus, while Northwest and Derby are at Newton. Bishop Carroll plays host to Maize.
