With that, many teams and players look to treat the playoffs as its own entity during the season, requiring a whole other mindset and even further commitment.
Some of that manifests with grand team-wide gestures, a lot of them visual so that anyone can look and see the uniformity.
Most popular among boys’ teams is the dying of hair to bleach blonde for some reason, an obvious sign of youthful judgment since the physical ramifications last well after even a team’s state championship run is long over. Still, it is popular enough that this year’s Aledo baseball team has partaken in the ritual as well.
For girls’ teams, no such ritual has taken hold quite as boldly across the state, but the Aledo softball team created their own a couple of years ago that is equally hard to miss.
Unless you are gullible enough to think this group of Ladycats all have spent thousands of dollars that would have taken several sessions on full arm/leg sleeve tattoos in the Polynesian style since the end of the regular season, you realize this group landed on something a little less permanent.
Still, it is a striking image since most teenagers are not rocking anything close to a full sleeve of tattoos, if they have any at all.
The idea came to the seniors two years ago when they faced Birdville in the playoffs.
“It makes it more fun because and also it makes us feel like we are more intimidating to the other teams,” senior Kellyn Overturff said while laughing. “While we are doing it, it is really team bonding because we all have to help each other do it. Everyone is running around with paper towels. It is a way for us to get closer during the playoffs.”
Coach Heather Myers remembers telling them to keep the tattoos off their necks and faces.
“Other than that, I thought it was great for team bonding,” Myers said. “And who doesn't love a good sleeve?”
The temporary part of the equation was showing in the area round against Paschal last week. It remains to be seen if the team has another session of team bonding tattoo work to refresh said sleeves when the Ladycats play Lubbock Monterey this week in the regional semifinals.
Game one was May 7, but game two is scheduled for 1 p.m. on May 8 at Holliday High School, with game three after if needed.
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