Making the transition

Lisa Steinbach is learning her left from her right all over again.

The 18-year-old senior on Post Falls High School’s softball team is making the transition to shortstop after playing second base for the Trojans’ varsity squad the past two years.

The change isn’t much in terms of distance, but now many of the things she has to do on the field are mirror images of what she was trying to accomplish at second.

Or, as Steinbach put it, “backward.”

“I played shortstop when I was younger, but I forgot how to play it,” she said. “I’m still going through those changes, and sometimes I slip up on some things. But I’m getting through it.”

Post Falls coach Jack Foster turned to Steinbach to fill a vacancy at shortstop because she has more experience in the middle infield than any of her teammates, and she has the arm strength to make those challenging throws from the hole between shortstop and third base.

Foster acknowledged that Steinbach still is refamiliarizing herself with the position, which comes with myriad responsibilities and challenges different from those she faced at second.

“The balls come from a different angle, and throws to first are at a different angle,” said Foster. He’s coaching the Trojans for his 10th season after taking a one-year hiatus last year to follow his daughter’s senior season playing college softball in California.

Steinbach “played real well last night and has for the last five or six games. She plays hard and understands what we’re doing,” the coach said.

Steinbach said she hasn’t had to take on a definitive leadership role as one of five seniors on the team. Each senior has found her own niche on the club, she said.

“My role? Encourager,” she said. “I like to make ‘em step up their game. I like to encourage them to do better.

“I’m kind of an outward person, and I say whatever is on my mind. This year (as a senior) is a little easier – I’m not gonna lie – but I still say things on my mind. I’ve always been a sarcastic person, so I’ve never been afraid to say things.”

Spokane Falls Community College outlasted several other colleges to sign Steinbach to a scholarship, and she’ll return to second base when she suits up for the Sasquatch next year.

With “seven or eight” colleges inquiring about her, Steinbach said, Eastern Oregon University was the only other school she seriously considered.

Ultimately, SFCC was too close to her heart to turn down, as well as close to home.

“I wanted to stay closer to home, and that first year will help me get used to college,” Steinbach said. “That’s one of the things I got out of the way, but I still have to look for apartments and figure out my major and minor. It was a hectic decision for myself and my family.”

While Steinbach possesses the defensive tools to excel at second base at SFCC – “I’m not afraid to get dirty,” she said. The right-handed hitter added that she still must learn how to hit the ball to the opposite field as part of the process of becoming an all-around batter.

“I’m ready for it,” she said. “I like the challenge.”