Holy Angels of victory

The spirit of sports soars as teams combine to create a special season

During a season that showed the essence of sports, the players, coaches and key supporters of the kickball team of Holy Angels Parish in Indianapolis pause for a photo that reflects the joy of the game. (Submitted photo)

By John Shaughnessy

It’s one of those “feel good” stories in sports.

A team of young players overcomes the odds and a history of losing to have a magical, undefeated regular season that leads it into the playoffs.

Yet, as good as that story is, it gets even better considering some of the off-the-field moments that occurred during this special season—moments that some people wish would happen more often in youth sports.

The story centers on the kickball team of fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade girls at Holy Angels Parish on the near west side of Indianapolis.

The parish has long been a haven of hope and faith in an area of the city where many families struggle economically. At the same time, the parish hadn’t fielded a team in kickball for decades. But that changed a few years ago with the arrival of two young teachers who wanted to give the girls something to do after school—third-grade teacher Victoria Marshall and fourth-grade teacher Jessica LaRosa.

“For most of them, this was their first experience of playing an organized sport,” LaRosa says. “We had to instill that responsibility in them, of what it means to be part of a team.”

During the first three seasons, the Holy Angels team won just three of the 22 games that it played. But the coaches were encouraged because the girls still wanted to play and get better. And this season began the way that all sports seasons do—with hope. The hope grew even brighter for the Holy Angels players when coaches and teams from other schools offered help in different ways.

Before the season, coaches of the kickball teams at St. Matthew the Apostle Parish and St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower) Parish, both in Indianapolis, let the Holy Angels team practice on their kickball diamonds because Holy Angels School doesn’t have a playground that’s big enough to practice the sport.

The cheerleaders at St. Matthew also donated new shoes and shorts for the Holy Angels kickball players. The players at St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg supplied team socks for the Holy Angels girls, while the team at St. Barnabas Parish in Indianapolis bought kickballs, made bracelets and wrote letters of encouragement for the Holy Angels players.

“Holy Angels isn’t a needy school, but they needed help from other schools to get the program started,” says Antoinette Burford, an assistant coach for the Holy Angels team. “Kickball is so competitive, but our girls saw the other teams wanted to help them get better. And that was a big deal to them. The girls have pride, and you can see it.”

That sense of pride shined through as the Holy Angels team won its seven regular season games—a dramatic change from previous seasons when the girls didn’t understand the game and felt intimidated by some of the other teams, according to Kumba Songor, a sixth-grade student in her third year on the team.

“This season has just been exciting,” Kumba says. “Before our first game, I didn’t have a lot of confidence. Then I saw how many runs we were scoring. It’s just been amazing for the whole team.”

So was the continuing support of other teams during the season. After Holy Angels played Little Flower, the two teams enjoyed a cookout together, feasting on hot dogs, chips, drinks and desserts.

“All the kids hung out together,” says Ann Sutton, the coach of Little Flower’s kickball team. “They had such a great time together that they didn’t want to leave. It made it meaningful for the kids. It would be nice if this sort of outreach happened more often. The girls really enjoyed it.”

Other teams made signs and came to cheer for the Holy Angels players during the season. The team at SS. Francis and Clare of Assisi Parish in Greenwood rescheduled a game when the Holy Angels team had transportation problems.

Those examples of sportsmanship made an impact on the Holy Angels players.

Sixth-grader Karrington Abstone says she enjoyed the opportunities to socialize with players from the different teams.

“It was fun,” she says.

It was almost as much fun as finishing the regular season undefeated, winning a division championship, making it into the playoffs for the city championship and being invited to Cardinal Ritter Jr./Sr. High School in Indianapolis, where the students held a pep rally for the Holy Angels girls on Sept. 21, the day of their playoff game.

Considering everything that happened during the season, it seemed appropriate that the playoff game matched the Holy Angels girls with one of the teams that had supported and encouraged them—the team from St. Barnabas. And it seemed even more fitting that after the playoff game ended—with a St. Barnabas victory—the two teams posed for a group photo together.

Still, the disappointment was etched in the faces of many of the Holy Angels players as that photo was taken.

“They were heartbroken. There were tears,” says Marshall, one of their head coaches.

The disappointment stayed with the Holy Angels team members when they arrived at school the following morning with the trophy from the Catholic Youth Organization for their division championship. The heartbreak lingered until the principal of Holy Angels School, Sherlynn Pillow, saluted the team in a school-wide announcement. Pillow told the school children that the kickball team had earned the school its first trophy in a sport since 1995.

The other students cheered for the players and congratulated them.

“That cheered them up,” Marshall says.

It was a season of support, sportsmanship and success that the Holy Angels girls will never forget.

“One of the best parts was coming out and being part of a school sport and having fun with my friends,” Kumba says. “It was just a rush of excitement.” †