GOOD HOPE — The season is off to a promising start for the Good Hope Varsity Girl’s Softball team with three wins and no losses. Head Coach Tim Tucker and Assistant Coach Skylar Tucker are hoping that they will have an easier time continuing that success after unveiling a new indoor training facility on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Skylar said that the idea first came to Tim two years ago when their team was made up almost entirely of younger players. On days when the weather didn’t allow for outdoor practices, the team was forced to use a facility nearly five miles away from the Good Hope campus.

“Tucker got us all together and said ‘Let’s build a building.’ We only had one girl that could drive at the time…on rainy days or cold days people were scrambling trying to get girls out to the barn. Tucker then had this vision for all of our girls,” Skylar said.

To see his vision come to fruition, Tim would be involved in the majority of the facility’s construction. Skylar described Tim’s involvement as a labor of love, saying that in the weeks leading up to Christmas, Tim would spend 12-15 hours each day putting in the work to complete the facility in time for the upcoming season.

“They put so much time, love and effort into every one of y’all [Good Hope Softball Team] and this is the end result,” Skylar said.

The facility is outfitted with a large turf area for fielding practice and two batting cages — one of which features an automatic pitching simulator.

Tim encouraged the girls to utilize the facility as ofter as they wished — with parental consent and supervision — and was hopeful that the addition would benefit not only his current team, but also the future generations of Good Hope softball.

“It was built for y’all and the ones that are coming up throughout the Good Hope community. It’s y’alls to use, y’all are welcome to be here…that’s what’s going to make us better. To achieve anything you gotta’ work for it,” Tim said.