‘Glenny Geckos’ Win Softball State Championship
Congratulations to our GWSC ‘Senior Girls’ Softball Team who recently won the 2026 ‘School Sport Victoria’ Softball State Championships. They were also awarded the prestigious ‘School Sport Victoria’ Spirit of Sport Award, acknowledging their outstanding endeavours both on and off the diamond.
The term ‘softball’ does not truly reflect how hard this sport is to play…..All aspects of this great game are hard; including the gravel infield (which will shave off sheets of skin if one slides in shorts), the composite or metal bat (swung millimetres from the catcher’s face inning after inning) and even the ‘solid-core’ stitched leather softball (that stings all parts of the body if you don’t get your glove to it quick enough). Apart from the dusty diamond and equipment used in play, the mental side of the game is also hard to understand, learn and potentially master.
Successful softball players are required to utilise an array of skills incorporating rapid-decision making, spatial reasoning, anticipation, strategic thinking, resilience, situational awareness, focus and emotional regulation. They are constantly tracking and analysing the inning, score, number of outs, positioning of base runners, trajectory of the ball, in addition to their opponent’s strengths and potential weaknesses. As you can clearly see, the game of ‘softball’ is in fact quite hard, as it requires players to instantly assess complex situations, anticipate the actions of others, whilst maintaining composure under extreme pressure to execute physical skills and calculated team plays.
Well, if you think this sport in itself is hard enough to play…..you can only imagine how hard it is to win a State Championship…….which our ‘Glenny Geckos’ Senior Girls Softball team were able to do at the Waverley Softball Centre on Thursday the 21st of May, 2026…..Here’s their captivating softball story……
Great sporting teams make hard things look easy, but to do so a lot of time, effort and hard yakka must be put in when preparing for any match, season or championship decider. The ‘Glenny Geckos’ have been on this sporting journey for two years now, after a collective of really impressive, determined and skilful young sportswomen from Glen Waverley Secondary College were encouraged to come together and form a school softball team…..Our team brought together cricketers, netballers, short track sprinters, footballers, javelin throwers, volleyball players and also two girls who had played club softball previously. Although the majority of our players lacked softball experience, they each had a unique set of skills that could be transferred across to the diamond, along with a willingness to learn and terrific team spirit from the get go.
Under the guidance of Mrs Grace Lee (GWSC Parent & Volunteer Coach), Miss Arielle Lee (GWSC Alumni & Volunteer Coach), Miss Bonita Gu-Yang (GWSC Year 7 Level Leader & Coach) and Mr Mark Robinson (GWSC Educator & Coach), alongside Charlotte Lee (‘Glenny Geckos’ Senior Girls Softball Captain), members of our #Softball-Strong-Squad were engaged in an intensive softball education and training program to help them develop an appreciation and understanding of the rules, various softball skills and match strategies, but more importantly to foster their love of the game! We have been running this softball program since Term 1 in 2025, with our ‘Glenny Geckos’ players participating in thirty-three carefully planned training sessions up until this point in time.
On Thursday the 21st of May, 2026 our ‘Glenny Geckos’ boarded the bus headed for the Waverley Softball Centre at Jells Park. We were welcomed with a gentle breeze and puddles of residual rain water pooling all across the infield...It was time to get out the ‘Super Sopper’ foam mats and dry off the diamond before the start of our first game of the ‘Senior Girls’ Softball State Championships. We faced Gladstone Park Secondary College in our first match and led from start to finish, with a resounding 7 run victory to kick start our fairytale run at States. The ‘Glenny Geckos’ then moved over to a new diamond and also onto a new opponent in Copperfield College from Sydenham. Our batting order took control of this game from the first innings, with 7 of our runners crossing home plate to close out our first offensive dig. We then defended strongly and had three outs from our first three plays, after which we ran away with the match that finished 18 – 0. Our third-round encounter was against Koo Wee Rup Secondary College, who were the reigning ‘SSV’ State Softball champions. We quickly took control of this game with our pitchers Anuki and Louisa taking it in turns to strike out the opposition, whilst our batters kept getting hits, stealing bases and eventually making their way back to home plate on numerous occasions. The match finished at 12 – 1 and the ‘Glenny Geckos’ were through to their second, successive softball State Championship final……against Balwyn High School, who we drew with at Regionals two weeks earlier!
This contest turned out to be an epic encounter, with our skipper Charlotte winning the toss and electing to bat first. Our top order battled hard to get on base against a very dynamic and accurate pitcher from Balwyn. We managed to score 3 runs in our first at bat, then defended our lead courageously by only allowing Balwyn to get one runner home before the top of the first inning. The ‘Geckos’ were on a roll and found another gear as they increased their lead to 4 runs after their second stanza with terrific hits from Kaashvi, Charlotte, Anuki, Ameya, Minuli and Chanuki. Some brilliant plays in the field from Louisa, Kaylee, Elsie, Deanna and Charlotte helped restrict Balwyn to only two runs in the second inning. Leading 5 to 3 at the bottom of the 3rd, our batting order continued their fine form with Louisa, Elsie, Deanna and Kaylee all making good contact to get on base and bring their team mates home another four times. Our student coaches Aditi, Haimi, Jaylyn and Zurie were kept busy having to collect a bounty of bats from beside the box. Although injured and unable to take the field, Sayu’s voice could be heard loud and clear at all parts of the diamond as she continually encouraged her team mates, leading a chorus of catchy chants. Back in the field for the third time, everything just felt like it fell into place with Charlotte in complete control from behind home plate, whilst our infield and outfield worked seamlessly in softball synergy.
This sublime team effort resulted in a strong 9 to 3 victory and a State Softball Championship for Glen Waverley Secondary College, which was our first for 8 years! After the final play, all of our ‘Glenny Geckos’ players and coaches cleared the dugout and joined their team mates on the dusty diamond to emphatically celebrate their win as one. They then quickly settled, re-grouped and offered thanks accompanied with cheers and applause to the umpires, officials and opponents, before shaking their hands. It was quite apt that one of our ‘Glenny Geckos’ coaches, Arielle, was captain of our last State Title winning softball team at GWSC. In a full circle moment, Arielle’s sister Charlotte was able to achieve the same feat as captain of our 2026 ‘SSV’ State Champion softball side!
During the presentation ceremony, Charlotte spoke so very well whilst thanking the opposition players and coaches, the umpires and the School Sport Victoria staff who helped organise the state-wide softball competition. Charlotte then heaped praise onto the ‘Glenny Geckos’ for their collective team effort, drive, determination and never give-up attitude which enabled them to secure the State Title. She also thanked the coaches of our team, Mrs Grace Lee, Miss Arielle Lee, Miss Bonita Gu-Yang and Mr Mark Robinson, who have been supervising and running softball training sessions with this team for the past two years. They have also helped score and base coach whilst providing our State Championship winning softball team with an array of motivational, nutritional and hydration support throughout another sensational season of softball.
The ol' adage of 'Blue & Green should never be seen' was also dismissed by our ‘Glenny Geckos’, as they not only secured the ‘School Sport Victoria’ Senior Girls Softball State Championship, but they were also awarded with the 'School Sport Victoria' Spirit of Sport Award. This is the second time that a sporting team from our college has won this prestigious award, which in my estimation is the more esteemed of the two banners as it recognises and acknowledges teams with a positive attitude and love of sport, who continually exhibit respect, integrity, leadership and inclusion both on and off the playing arena.
Congratulations again to all eleven players and four student coaches in our ‘Glenny Geckos’ Senior Girls Softball Team, you all thoroughly deserve your ‘SSV’ State gold medals and ‘SSV’ Spirit of Sport Award. More importantly, you all played in the correct spirit of the game representing yourselves, your families and our College Community with great pride and distinction. Our entire #GWSCommunity are so excited for you all and very proud of you all!
#GoGlennyGeckos!
#Softball-Strong-Squad!
#Made-Our-STATEment!