Meet Annabelle Nessa, the spirited leader of the Colo-NESCO softball team

Even though she is in a walking boot, Annabelle Nessa is still a valuable contributor to the Colo-NESCO softball team.

Nessa is the starting pitcher for the Royals, but she hurt her foot during a game against Ankeny Christian on June 21.

Nessa will have her foot looked at by a doctor soon to determine if it is a stress fracture or sprain. Then, she'll know if she can play again during her senior year.

As she awaits her doctor's decision, Nessa is still busy helping her teammates during practice and cheering them on in the dugout.

“I’m known as the person who hypes up the dugout,” Nessa said. “That is very fun.”

She ensures all her teammates are engaged during games, even as they struggle, posting a 3-19 record through Wednesday's home loss to HLV.

During the HLV loss, Nessa was leading cheers of "Niner, niner, hit one up the liner" for teammate Molly Angell and "Eighter gator, eat 'em up, eat 'em up" for Cassidy Muschick.

Junior Annabelle Heller has a favorite cheer Nessa always leads from the dugout.

“The walking cheer,” Heller said. “That one is always fun. ‘One, two, three, four what are feet made for...Walking! Walking!' I like that one.”

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Nessa has gradually grown into her role as Colo-NESCO's leader.

"There are many reasons to admire Belle, but I believe the most notable will always be her attitude," said Colo-NESCO junior Cerra Muntz. "She is always a positive person, on and off of the field. On the team's bad days, she always makes sure that we are still cheering in the dugout and finding the good in failure. She brings her energy to every game and practice, and it's always helped me stay hyped after a rough inning."

Muntz is a catcher for Colo-NESCO. She and Nessa play off each other leading the cheers in the dugout, and they have a special bond as battery mates.

"There have been lots of fun memories between us," Muntz said. "One specifically was during one of our home games, a good song came on and Belle and I started dancing and singing. When the song was almost over, Belle noticed her mom, Traci Nessa of Victory Photography, taking pictures of us so we did a little posing for her too. It was so fun and memorable for the both of us."

Muntz and some other Royal players are currently off on a trip to Seattle for a Family, Career and Community Leaders of America conference. With Nessa injured, her guidance and energy from the dugout are needed more than ever as the short-handed Royals look to snap a nine-game losing streak.

“I’m a softball captain,” Nessa said. “I take pride in my leadership, and I hope I can leave an impact on the players here because I know they’ll leave a great legacy as well.”

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But more than anything, Nessa wants to be able to help her team on the field.

Nessa has come a long way as a pitcher since her first start as a freshman. She was 5-9 with an 8.32 ERA in 74 innings during her first varsity season.

As a sophomore, she put up similar numbers. She finished 1-10 with a 9.23 ERA in 57 2/3 innings.

Then everything clicked.

After years of hard work in the offseason as part of the 3 T's and Iowa Blitz club teams, she came into her own as a junior in 2023. Nessa went 7-7 with a 3.68 ERA, 103 strikeouts and just 17 walks in 83 2/3 innings.

“It was trusting the people behind me and knowing that I don’t have to do it by myself,” Nessa said. “I know that God has a plan for me, and my development as an athlete truly comes from that.”

Nessa had to share pitching duties with Callie Kohlwes over the last three years. She said Kohlwes played a big part in her growth as a pitcher.

“I learned quite a few things about how to be tough, how to get through certain situations," Nessa said. "Coming back from getting thrown into tough situations, and really learning from that helped me grow as an athlete.”

She also credits Royal coach Candace Sutton and assistant Rylee Purvis for helping her develop into a quality pitcher.

“Great coaches make great players,” Nessa said. “I give a lot of credit to them. Coach Sutton has been amazing. Just the faith she has in me on the mound. She’ll stand there and tell me this is your mound, you’ve got these. Knowing that she and Coach Purvis have faith in me is huge.”

Nessa entered her senior year with a lot of weight on her shoulders. With Kohlwes no longer there, she had to carry the load for a team that was inconsistent at the plate and in the field.

She rose to the challenge.

“She’s a great team player,” Sutton said. “She’s done a really great job in the circle. She’s really come out of her shell and that’s been really great for our program.”

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Before her injury, Nessa had three wins and a 5.16 ERA in 99 innings. She has retired 165 batters on strikes, surpassing her strikeout total from the previous two seasons combined.

Nessa made the big jump in strikeouts without possessing overpowering speed. A good changeup has always been her bread-and-butter, and this past season she worked a lot on her spin.

“I’ve gotten better at the curveball and screwball,” Nessa said. “Those have been very well-utilized.”

Because of her growth as a pitcher, Nessa earned herself a scholarship to play college softball at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls.

“It’s very rewarding,” Nessa said. “Looking at where I was last year with my spin pitches, developing them throughout the offseason and seeing how they can get that much better and work against batters has been very rewarding.”

Nessa is hoping she gets good news from the doctor on Monday. But even if that does not happen, she will be right there cheering on her teammates in their final home game against BGM, again the following night at Melcher-Dallas and on July 8 in the Class 1A regional opening round of playoffs.

“That’s a legacy I’d like to leave,” Nessa said. “Good energy brings good outcomes.”

Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Meet Annabelle Nessa, the spirited leader of the Colo-NESCO softball team