As discussed at Lions Club
Minden High School’s principal and softball coach, Dr. Becky Wilson and Shelby Leach, spoke at the Lions Club meeting on July 27 regarding Minden High’s new softball field.
The softball field is being constructed near Minden’s fairgrounds on the site of the former Lowe’s Elementary school and the field will be completely turfed, including the batting cages which are located parallel to the field. There will even be a raised area along the backside of the field for vehicles to pull in and hold tailgating parties. There is limited parking now, but a large parking lot is planned for stage three.
“Our softball field is being constructed by Don M. Barron Contractor, Inc. out of Farmerville, and it has been going very quickly. It’s phenomenal… Right now, our students load up, and they go to the Rec Center. We are thrilled that our kids are going to have a place of their own,” said Dr. Wilson.
The Minden High Lady Tiders softball team has never had their own field; all of the team’s games and practices take place at the Rec Center. Before the Rec Center, softball games and practices were conducted at Babb Park.
Dr. Wilson also explained that this new softball facility is one of the nicest facilities of its kind in all of Northwest Louisiana.
“We have already had so many people contacting us about ‘will you open this up for tournaments,’ ‘can we host things here,’ ‘what can we do in Minden at your softball field.’ Because what’s being constructed right now is one of the nicest softball facilities in North Louisiana. In fact, I’ve been told there’s only one place that compares, and it’s in West Monroe built by the exact same company that is building ours,” said Dr. Wilson.
Coach Leach expressed how special it is for the team to have a field of their own, especially one that will be completely turf — even the batting cages.
“Our entire field is turfed…Most fields that do have turf, are either the infield is turfed and the outfield is not, or they have the outfield turfed and the infield is dirt. We have been so blessed that we have our entire facility turfed. It’s expensive but, in the long run, it’s going to pay for itself, we won’t have to worry about any kind of maintenance on it. There is not another school in the state of Louisiana that has the facilities that we do,” said Leach.
Coach Leach also shared her vision for the future of the Lady Tider softball team, a vision that can only be possible with the involvement of the community.
“As we express our gratitude, I also want to share with you our vision for this future program. We aim to build not just a successful team, but a lasting legacy of excellence. My vision goes beyond victories on the field, it encompasses the personal growth of every player, instilling life skills that will serve them well beyond their softball careers. We envision a program that exercises values such as respect, sportsmanship and hard work both on and off the field. Through mentorship and guidance we aspire to develop confident leaders who will become positive influences in our community,” said Leach.
This vision, however, could not be possible without the involvement of the community.
“With all that, we’ve still faced challenges. We’ve faced victories and setbacks together and through it all just your belief in our athletes as a whole and the potential has been unwavering. Your support has filled our players’ passion and has also shaped them into resilient individuals who understand the power of community and the importance of giving back,” said Leach.
Along with thanks and gratitude for the Lions Club’s involvement with the building of the school’s softball field, Dr. Wilson also mentioned her plans for the new multipurpose room to be built on Minden High’s Campus.
“As you may know, we are having a lot of construction projects at Minden High School. We have a sincere need for more room, especially for our JROTC program, our sports program and we need more classrooms. The big building being built is that new building that will have new classrooms, a JROTC facility and the different athletic facilities will be in there. Once it’s finished it’s going to be absolutely amazing, the construction team working on that is the ELA group, and we sincerely hope that it continues to progress,” said Dr. Wilson.
Along with the construction of this multipurpose room, Minden High’s football field’s visitors’ side will be going under total reconstruction.
“On that visitors’ side, Walker Company is working on it right now, they have taken out our whole visitors’ side and they are putting up whole new grandstands on that visitors’ side. The plan is for that to be completed by mid-August and ready in time for our first home football game on September 1. I’m very excited about that, it will be more spread out, and the bleachers will hold about a thousand people,” said Dr. Wilson.
The Lions Club, school board and community members have propelled Minden High’s construction endeavors and the entire community will benefit from these projects after their completion.