Team building: Taunton Tornadoes 10U look to close summer out on a high note

TAUNTON — Taunton is a softball city.

With Taunton High claiming back-to-back Division I state titles, and their latest win over Peabody bringing the softball program's total to seven, it's safe to say the Silver City has been a hotbed for softball talent. But it takes more than talent to become a champion; it's a mixture of hard work, determination and team work, especially when it's fostered around good team chemistry and a fun atmosphere.

For many girls who've softball in Taunton, that first started out on the diamonds of the Taunton Girls Softball League and for the league's Taunton Tornadoes 10U travel team, they're certainly keeping the tradition alive and well.

The Tornadoes 10U team has finished in the top three of all tournaments they've played in this season, including winning the Jaxon Marocco Classic in May and finishing runners up or in third place in the four other tournaments they've participated in. For head coach Peter Buffington, it's all about the commitment everyone has put in from the first practice last fall.

"It's been a really good summer, but it goes way back to October when we started practicing and I would say that these girls and the coaches and the parents made the commitment and you can really see it paying off in that they've worked super hard," Buffington said.

Additionally, many of their tournament opponents have been private club teams while the Tornadoes are a recreational travel team, something Buffington takes pride in.

"We play mainly club teams and we're mainly a recreational organization and we've done very well against those club teams," Buffington said. "I think it speaks volumes for our program. For these girls that are still learning the game, they're still young and we're teaching them the fundamentals and all that stuff and they've really grasped what we've taught them and we're teaching things that I think are age appropriate (for the game) and they've all become better players."

Helping to fuel their performance on the field are the many team bonding activities they do off it, such as watching Taunton softball games or group outings/

"We do a lot of off-the-field stuff as a team and they've really bonded well and they've really grown as a team and anybody who's watched them can see that," Buffington said.

Additionally the girls, who range in ages from eight to 10, have shown their own initiative to take on causes they care about.

"They set up a table down here (at the TGSL complex) to raise money for the dog shelter which was cool and they made and sold bracelets and that was the whole group of them," Buffington said. "We didn't ask or tell them to do it, that was them doing it on their own, so they're good kids and that's important that they're learning responsibility and right from wrong and they're learning more than softball here, that's what is really fun as a parent and a coach."

For Buffington, whose daughters Molly, 10, and Charlotte, 8, both play for the team, sports have always been a part of his life and he's enjoyed being able to bond over it with them.

" We were a sports family growing up and hopefully they continue, but for me it's extra special to be able to do it with (my daughters)," Buffington said.

But as a coach of many of these girls since they were five years old, he says he's began to view them all in a way as his kids and is excited to see the progress they've made and both their love of the game and each other.

"As cheesy as it sounds, I treat them all as my kids," Buffington said. "It's special for my two girls, but it's extra special to see them all succeed because when I say my kids, I look at them as they're all my kids and they are such a respectful bunch and we push them and they work hard and we have fun doing that too. They know when it's time to work and they know when it's time to have fun."

Within the TGSL and the Tornadoes, Buffington said his family and others have found a community, one that they hope continues to grow and flourish to keep the sport of softball alive and well in Taunton.

"This is like our home away from home now. It's not just me, it's the guys who coach, the women who coach, it's like one big family down here and that's what's really special about it," Buffington said. "What we're doing here hopefully is contagious and grows throughout the whole program."

Additionally, having the Taunton softball team to look up to has also been a big boost to the program, especially when players such as Hayley Krockta and Mia Fernandes, who both played for the Tornadoes and now play for the Typhoons travel team, stop by to help out with practice.

"Those two girls are part of our program at the club level, so to have that is great and we'd be crazy not to take advantage of that, and we've even had girls from the 14U (team come) and they've come down and helped us, and the girls look up to them," Buffington said. "Mia and Hayley are like rock stars to these girls. We've gone to all of the Taunton High softball games when they were having their (tournament) run and the girls sat behind the backstop and watched, hopefully someday we're sitting there watching them play and that's what's cool about it, so it starts here and then it goes all over the place. It's fun to be a part of."

For the players themselves, the joy of being a part of the Tornadoes makes it all worth it.

"I like spending time with my teammates and just having fun," Molly Buffington said.

Collectively, the girls said that the biggest lesson they've learned this year is to work together as a team and never give up.

The Tornadoes have one final tournament of the 2022 season this weekend in Rehoboth, one which the girls said they're both nervous and excited for. As for Buffington, it's hard to believe it's about to come to a close.

"None of us us want it to end. I don't thing the girls want it to end, I don't think the coaches want it to end," Buffington said. "It's been such a special group and a special year and the success, the winning has just kind of been like the cherry on top of all of it. Just to watch them learn and grow and get better, it's awesome."

Win or lose, however, the memories of this summers are sure to stick with these girls for the foreseeable future with friendships and lessons to last a lifetime.

Taunton Daily Gazette sports reporter Cameron Merritt can be reached at cmerritt@tauntongazette.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @CamMerritt_News. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to the Taunton Daily Gazette today.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton Tornadoes 10U softball team look to close summer on top-coach-peter-buffington