Delaney Loyd was a multi-sport athlete at El Dorado. Last year, she competed in both volleyball and softball. For her sophomore year, she said she will focus all of her energy and attention on softball.
Loyd is competing this summer for the 3n2 Sticks/Lupo 16U team, based out of Sheridan. She played two tournaments with the Sticks before becoming a permanent team member.
“I feel that I have played better with the Sticks than I did with my team before the current one,” said Loyd, who had two home runs and five RBIs in one game this summer.
The centerfielder batted .379 for the Lady Wildcats with 17 runs and 16 RBI.
“Particularly in the off season, I want to work on my hitting mechanics,” she said. “My hitting coach, Geoffrey Orr, helps me out of lot with breaking my swing down in every drill we work on in lessons. The main thing I want to accomplish this summer is to be an all-around better ball player and by that I mean being more aggressive than I already am, have better body language, and having a better mentality because sometimes I am extremely hard on myself because I expect a lot of myself.”
For Loyd, the off-season hasn’t just been about playing games. She’s attended a few softball camps, including the Tulsa Elite Prospect Collegiate Camp and the Arkansas Razorback Camp.
“It was an amazing opportunity for coaches to see me and my ability,” she said of the Tulsa Elite, which featured 19 college coaches. “The Razorback Camp was even better for me. It was a 9-hour for three days camp and non-stop hard work was being put in. I learned a lot on everything and got a ton of compliments on my swing and how I move to the ball. The camp was ran by the Arkansas staff and the softball players that were all amazing people and very helpful when I needed help.”
Loyd said she hoped to get several things out of those camps, including improving her skills and also gaining the attention of the college coaches.
“Playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks is one of my biggest goals in life so going to that camp was very exciting and nerve racking all at once,” she said. “Once we started practicing I was ready to show them what I could do.”
For Loyd, the summer will be softball, softball and then more softball. She plans to play with the Sticks into the fall with tournaments in St. Louis and Kansas City scheduled.
That meant giving up volleyball, a sport she played for the Lady Wildcats a year ago.
“It was difficult because I enjoyed playing,” she said. “I wanted to focus on softball full time.
“It’s important to me to have a good softball summer because softball tournaments are always full of people and amazing teams. I’ve always been told I never know who is in the stands watching. I always think that in my head and go 110 percent all of the time.”