I’d like to take a moment to highlight the Kenston Forest School varsity softball team. In this region, the Lady Kavaliers demonstrate a unique strength that deserves to be highlighted.

Last year, Kenston Forest was a surprise participant in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division III state championship game. The Lady Kavs routed Portsmouth Christian School 11-0 in the state quarterfinals and edged archrival Brunswick Academy 5-4 in the semifinals. They fell 17-2 in the final against an elite Fuqua School team, but the Lady Kavaliers had little reason to hang their heads because they were a strikingly young team.

They had three seniors, one junior, three sophomores, two freshmen and two eighth-graders, and yet there they were in the state title game.

One of the things that helped fuel their success was the wealth of opportunities to gain in-game experience that Head Coach Jannon Coley provides. She purposely schedules a lot of games.

While she fully respects and recognizes the importance of practice, she has noted that she’d rather play a game than practice.

Kenston Forest played 31 games last year, finishing 17-14 overall.

The 2019 Lady Kavaliers entered this week with the Virginia Colonial Conference tournament about to begin, having played 27 games during the regular season. Their overall record is 20-7.

Somehow, Kenston Forest is actually younger this season, featuring one senior, three juniors, three sophomores, two freshmen and two eighth-graders, though the team did gain a key transfer student-athlete in the form of star junior Peyton Coleman.

Once again, despite their youth, the Lady Kavs have experience as a major asset entering the conference and state tournaments.

It is an important and commendable thing when a team puts in the work during the regular season rather than waiting for the postseason to really push itself.

I relish getting to see Kenston Forest enjoy the fruits of its labor as we enter the latter part of spring. Go Lady Kavs!

Titus Mohler is the sports editor for The Kenbridge-Victoria Dispatch and Farmville Newsmedia LLC. His email address is Titus.Mohler@ KVDispatch.com.