In 2024, Haldane Athletics was able to revive the softball program by starting a much awaited varsity team. It had been five years since Haldane had been able to sustain a varsity level program, and a JV team had only just been established in the 2022 season. With continued support from Jeffrey Sniffen, Haldane 6th grade teacher and the current head coach, the program was able to make a comeback.
In the past, Haldane softball has fielded many successful seasons, including going all the way to states in 2011. Along with many other championship wins, the softball team secured a sectional win against Alexander Hamilton in 2019, the last year that Haldane had a team before COVID. Despite the extensive success of this program, when the school returned from COVID, there wasn’t even a team to compete.
Sniffen knew that he had to start small. “We started a JV program to begin with no more than ten players,” Sniffen stated, noting that the addition of a lacrosse player made eleven. “It was definitely a challenge, but we were moderately successful,” he said. “We had about four wins on the year, but more importantly we planted the seed.”
A main contributor to this interest was the Philipstown Little League. This program really helped to inspire young girls to take up softball. Thankfully, in 2024, Haldane was able to use the continued support of the youth programs to find a large pool of girls who wanted to play.
One of these girls, freshman Lainey Donaghy, is an infielder and catcher. “Our MLB Scout Joins Haldane Baseball team has improved so much throughout the past couple of years,” Donaghy stated. “We have been growing in number and talent. It is amazing how we went from having no softball team, to a JV, and later both a JV and Varsity team. It’s definitely a young program, but I’m so excited to be a part of it!”
As efforts to rebuild the program began, Haldane merged with Putnam Valley so that girls could play at the varsity level. Mary Mikalsen, who graduated from Haldane in 2023, played on the merged team as well as Caroline Sniffen, a current senior. Caroline Sniffen stated, “My teammates and coaches were the best and made the season so much fun. As annoying as the drive was to get there every day, that season was worth every second. That team made me such a better player and helped me enjoy the game so much more.”
Back at Haldane, the JV program was continuing to compete. Coach Sniffen said, “ I continued to coach the JV program while my daughter went to play at Putnam Valley, but knowing that she would come back the following year because we were going to have a Varsity team, which we were able to do.”
This season, the coaching staff has big plans for the team. Coach Kristen Amato stated, “The coaching staff recently took a trip to the World Softball Coaches Convention to work with top softball minds in the country. We are becoming stronger each day and preparing for an exciting season this spring.”
Haldane softball has been through a lot in the past couple years. Begining as only a junior varsity team, the new varsity team finished second in the sectional tournament this past season. Varsity infielder and sophomore Sydney Merriman stated, “This season, I am looking forward to putting in hard work and maximum effort to succeed throughout everything with the best team!”
One thing is for sure: with loads of young talent, and a revived feeder program, Haldane softball will only continue to grow and improve. In contrast to 2019, when there wasn’t a varsity program, Haldane softball has high hopes to bring home a sectional title in the 2025 season, solidifying their return as a competitor.
