NEWPORT-The Cocke County Middle School softball team's inaugural season came to a close with thoughts of next season already on their minds.

On June 21, the first ever CCMS softball team held its end-of-the-year banquet at Newport City Park.

The beginning season did not come without a lot of bumps and bruises along the way. Yet, the first season was successful in the eyes of the coaches. The inaugural squad was extremely young with one lone 8th grader. With a total of 14 players, and a third of them with less than two years of softball experience, the future looks bright and holds promise.

With Cocke County High School Athletic Director Larry Williams present, along with first-year coach Jan Sneed, several awards were presented at the season-ending banquet. Assistant coach Art Beil helped in handing out the hardware to all of the players. Leading this year's awards was Sonya Styles, the team's one and only 8th grader, who accepted the 'Leadership Award.' Sonya was the captain of the infield, playing solidly both behind the plate and at first base. She will be sorely missed by the CCMS squad, but the Cocke County High School Lady Red will be gaining a solid player. The top defensive award went to Autumn Bible, who accepted the 'Iron Woman Award.' Bible earned this award for pitching over 60 innings in the inaugural season. The top offensive awards went to Marlea Costner for leading the team in hits, and Sydney Sneed for having the highest batting average (.364) for the season.

First-year head coach Jan Sneed was very pleased with the season, and very optimistic about future seasons with this group of players and the group of upcoming middle school age players.

"With this year's young players getting so much exposure this year, we were truly baptized by fire," said coach Sneed. "All year we played against teams that were mostly 8th graders with our team being mostly 6th graders. That is a huge difference in size and experience."

But, that doesn't mean the middle school squad wasn't competitive.

"Even though we were playing against a lot of older players," said coach Sneed, "we were hanging in most of the games."

And, coach Sneed says she and coach Beil got a lot of encouragement along the way.

"I would like to say thank you to Cocke County High School Athletic Director Larry Williams for allowing us the opportunity to play and to provide a feeder system to the high school squad," said coach Sneed. "And, Lady Red head coach Terry Hurst was just awesome with his guidance and assistance this year too. This team would have never come into reality without their support and dedication to the softball program."

Coach Sneed was also quick to acknowledge her assistant.

"A huge thanks to Art Beil, who helped me coach this year," said coach Sneed. "Art was a tremendous asset.

"This is a great opportunity for these girls, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate the opportunity to be able to work with them. The constant support of these gentlemen, along with the parents and family members that shuttled these girls to all of the practices and games throughout the season made this a successful season in my book."