Throughout the fall, and into the season so far, two words have repeatedly been uttered between members of the Syracuse softball team: ‘Hey, Sis.’

Head coach Leigh Ross hears the phrase on the team bus, inside the Carrier Dome and while the girls pass each other on the quad.

But there is no blood that bonds any members of the young Syracuse squad, a program that is only in its first run, under the watchful eye of Ross.

The team refers to it as ‘Big Sister, Little Sister,’ and since it was instituted this past August, the team believes it has helped raise the overall chemistry on the squad.

Returnees were notified about the program this summer via e-mail, and met their ‘Little Sisters’ during the first week of classes.

From a veteran’s standpoint, senior infielder Nicole Miller believes the program has proven truly successful.

‘It really helps, because it allows the freshmen to have someone to show them the ropes off of the field,’ Miller said. ‘On the field, it has enabled us to really click with our little sisters.’

After last year’s disappointing season, in which the Orange began the year with 13 consecutive losses en-route to a 21-32 campaign, Ross consulted with several close peers in the coaching profession, seeking out something that could help team chemistry heading into the 2009 season. Ross especially wanted to find something that incorporated newcomers extensively, seeing that eight out of 17 players this year are rookies.

Then Ross stumbled across the ‘Big Sister, Little Sister’ program, and molded it into what she felt would best suit the team.

As for the nuances of the program, Ross didn’t mandate very much from his players, aside from showing the freshmen around campus at the start of the fall semester, and rooming with the girls during the team’s first road trip to New Mexico. Rather, the head coach decided to have the upperclassmen decide for themselves how they would help the newcomers assimilate.

For freshman Kelly Saco, the sisterhood came along easily thanks to past experiences in a similar situation, but at the same time the SU ‘sisterhood’ brought about its own unique particulars.

‘I was actually kind of familiar with it because in my high school we did it on our swim team,’ Saco said. ‘Here my ‘Big Sis,’ and I even made up our own handshake, for kind of like fun bonding, and it definitely helped us bond like a family, and that was the whole purpose, to feel comfortable with each other before we hit the field.’

Aside from the fact that half of the team would be comprised of newcomers this year, Ross also established the program because of one glaring reason.

‘I think it was a combination of having eight new freshmen, and the returnee’s mentality,’ Ross said. ‘I knew that they would buy into it, and in the past, it would have been more difficult for some of the girls to buy into the things that we may have ‘big sisters’ do.’

Miller, freshman Lacey Kohl’s ‘Big Sister,’ agrees with her coach, regarding the fact that this program is working so well because of the difference between this year’s team and past teams.

‘There is a difference with this team,’ Miller said. ‘We all just mesh together really well, and in the past, we really haven’t hung out with the team outside of softball, but this year these are our friends that we want to spend time with. This was a perfect year for this type of program.’

Eight games into the season the program seems to have yielded success on the field as well, as Syracuse has started the year with a 5-3 record.

When recruiting players, Ross harps on the family factor with recruits and mentions that she will continue the program in the future.

Saco and the rest of the freshman can’t wait to be on the other side of the relationship in the years ahead with some of those recruits, reciting that same phrase, yet with a different role.

‘We will be motivated to carry it on,’ Saco said. ‘And treat our little sisters as well as the upperclassmen treated us this year.’

aolivero@syr.edu

Published on February 18, 2009 at 12:00 pm