Storm 17U team looking for big performance at Storm Dayz

SYCAMORE – Just a few days after Addison Dierschow’s high school season came to end, her summer travel league with the Kishwaukee Valley Storm 17U team began.

And with the change came the increased workload, going from a few games a week to three or four games a day over a weekend.

“It’s tough,” Dierschow said. “With high school ball it’s once a day or once every couple days, and it’s all spread out throughout the week. With travel it’s kind of packed in all one weekend. You could have three, four games a day. You just have to focus more and lock in on each game.”

Dierschow, the Storm 17U, three other Storm teams and seven Sycamore Sycos squads will compete in the 24th annual Storm Dayz Tournament, which runs Friday through Sunday at the Sycamore Park District softball fields.

The club also will have an 18U team competing with the 17U team in the tournament’s 18-and-under division, which features 21 teams. Stillman Valley’s Kaelynn Williams pitches for the Storm’s 18U team and is in a similar situation to Dierschow.

The recent high school graduate said the key to the increased workload is all about mentality.

“It’s a little bit harder going from having rest days to not,” said Williams, who will pitch for Oakton Community College next year. “It’s harder to keep yourself in there, but you just have to focus more. The more you work out and get through it, it’s easier.”

Williams said the 18U team has gone through some bumps but is starting to come together heading into the tournament.

“We’ve been doing a lot of things to prepare,” Williams said. “We’ve been doing a lot of team bonding. We had a few team dinners just to talk and have team bonding. I think we’ve come together a lot more as a team.”

Pool play for all age groups is Friday, with bracket play taking place Saturday and Sunday – although forecasted rain may cause reconfiguration of the schedule.

Dierschow said the 17U team, which also features her Sycamore teammates Kait Williams and Addison Armstrong, as well as DeKalb players Emma Hart and Ayla Baty-Gould, is excited to be playing at home.

“A lot of people that are fans and support us will come out,” Dierschow said. “Just having that energy at our home place is really exciting.”

Chris Dierschow, coach of the 17U team, said Addison Dierschow is committed to conditioning and staying in shape. She keeps her arm iced after road trips and focuses on taking care of her body the right way – something he said the club really stresses.

“I think the [high school] schedule worked to our favor in the spring season where there weren’t a whole lot of back-to-backs,” Chris Dierschow said. “There were a couple weeks where there were five games in seven days, and that was toward the back end so I think it helped. Addison obviously had a lot of time on the mound for Sycamore, so I think her strength and her stamina is up.”

The 17U team took second last week at a tournament in Nashville. Chris Dierschow said the team is starting to peak at the right time.

Chris Dierschow said he’s expecting a good tournament and a good showing by his club.

“There’s a lot of talent across all the teams in the entire field of 21 teams,” Chris Dierschow said. “We put some expectations on ourselves. We set goals every week we’re together, and this week is no different. This week is to come out No. 1 seed out of our pool and set ourselves up to have the best starting bracket we can have.”