Pahrump Valley athletes find ways to fill their days

Finding ways to stay active and preparing for the future are helping to fill the days of Pahrump Valley High School softball players who find themselves with more time on their hands than they have had in spring in years.

Without softball practices and games to go to, junior Allyson Rily has had to adjust simply to being indoors so much.

“It’s hard being inside my house for so long, especially since I’m always doing some type of athletic activity,” Rily said. “I have been working out at home, whether it’s running on the treadmill, working out my arms or doing core.”

Senior McKayla Bartley, already committed to playing softball next year at Bryant &Stratton College in Virginia, is still working softball into her home-bound routine.

“Being at home is boring and sad, but I’m doing my best to stay in shape as best as I can,” Bartley said. “So far I’ve been hitting and throwing every day and doing at least one at-home workout to stay in shape. On top of that, I’ve been doing my weight coach’s workout every day as well.”

Senior Kiley Lyons has spent a lot of time with her siblings, focusing on maintaining a healthy lifestyle at home.

“We may not be playing softball at the moment, however I’m still trying to avoid eating a lot of sweets, junk food or drinking soda to not get into any bad habits,” Lyons said. “I’ve been with my little siblings a lot, so I go outside and run around with them. We will go on the trampoline, ride scooters, ride bikes or play ball outside.

“Having my little siblings around helps a lot to keep me moving and active even if I’m just playing inside with them or helping them clean their rooms.”

That does not mean there isn’t some softball worked into her routine.

“I go outside to hit into our fence or do some drills that I can work on by myself to keep in my softball groove,” Lyons said. “I’ve had my family throw with me or do a couple drills to get at least some practice in.”

Staying in softball shape without actually playing softball is a tall order, but on some level the players realize the benefit of at least trying.

“So much progress was made for me physically during what little season I had, and I don’t want to lose that,” Bartley said.

“It is definitely rough, but I will make it through,” Lyons said. “I’ve just got to keep being active to get myself ready for college softball.”

While live events are the most obvious sports-related victim of the pandemic, college recruiting has not been immune. Campus visits are out, and there are no games for college scouts to attend. But Lyons remains actively involved in the recruiting process.

“I am still trying to decide between a couple of colleges and pick the best one,” she said. “I’m not able to do physical tours of the schools and practice with the teams, so that kind of is putting a damper on trying to decide. But colleges are giving me virtual tours and coming up with their offers for me.”

Although only a junior, Rily is also using the time to pursue college offers, made a bit more complicated by the fact she has not decided between soccer and softball.

“I plan on researching some of the colleges that I was in contact with before this all happened,” Rily said. “I am also going to make some more videos for the soccer and softball recruiting sites I use.”

Rather than try to decide which sport to play at the next level, Rily figures the potential scholarship offers will settle the matter for her.

“I love both sports,” she said. “Last year, being state champs and all the awards from softball was huge. This year, I was awarded defender of the year for 3A soccer, which was also amazing. I am close with the girls on both teams since we have played together since such a young age.

“So the answer is, yes, I am just going to go with the best offer.”

And in the meantime, the athletes are just trying to keep busy.

Said Lyons: “During this time I’ve been doing work inside and outside of our house to keep me occupied to make sure I’m not just being lazy and sitting down all the time.”