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JBSA News
NEWS | Oct. 15, 2013

All-Air Force Men's Softball Team earns second consecutive second place finish

By Jose T. Garza III JBSA-Lackland Public Affairs

The All-Air Force Men's Softball Team came up short for the second consecutive year in the Armed Forces Softball Championships.

The team earned a second place finish, losing to the Army, 23-8 in the gold medal game of the weeklong tournament, which took place Sept. 14-20 in Fort Sill, Okla.

Head Coach Steve Shortland didn't make excuses when talking about the team's shortcomings. He was proud of his team's performance and its conduct throughout the weeklong tournament, which also featured teams from the Navy and Marine Corps.

"They were classy all the way, which is what we demand out of our players," Shortland said. "They didn't fail on that end."

Shortland believed he picked the right players going into training camp at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, and the team had good practices leading up to the tournament.

He felt the team just went flat during its lopsided loss in the gold medal game.

"We just couldn't get any traction," Shortland said about its loss to the Army. "We couldn't get anything going, and the Army did so we couldn't keep up with them.
I give all credit to the Army. They got the job done so much respect to them."

During training camp, Shortland said he did not feel the need to make drastic changes to how the team prepared for the Armed Forces Softball Championships after placing second last year. The team previously won three consecutive Armed Forces gold medals.

Even after attaining another second place finish, he still feels no need to make drastic changes in preparation for future Armed Forces tournaments.

"If we had gone 0-9 in the tournament and figured out that we had the wrong players on our team than we would have to reevaluate things and make a determination on what to do to make the team better, he said."

Shortland said the support from the 802nd Force Support Squadron and its sports and fitness staff made his and the team's experience at JBSA-Lackland enjoyable. He hopes the team gets the opportunity to have training camp here again next year.

"The JBSA-Lackland 802nd Force Support Squadron hosted us well, and we enjoyed our time here," he said.