'A 100 percent leader': Angelina Jones' happy homecoming for Windham softball

WINDHAM — Her former teammates wanted her back.

Last year, as Angelina Jones attended Windham softball games as a fan, her former teammates advocated for her return to the Bombers.

This season, they again showed their confidence in Jones, voting for her as captain even though she hadn't been a part of the program since her freshman year. Jones was surprised, but coach Tom VanKirk wasn't.

"Just watching her with her teammates, like, she was able to motivate them without belittling them or tearing them down," VanKirk said. "They love her, and when we did the captain vote, the team votes and the coaches vote, and they almost unanimously picked her."

Jones rewarded their faith, earning team MVP honors with a .341 batting average. The senior also tallied a team-leading 24 runs and 13 hit-by-pitches, reaching base in more than half (.526) of her plate appearances.

"She's been our team leader, top to bottom," VanKirk said. "She's just been an absolutely wonderful kid at the top and a 100 percent leader."

Angelina Jones heads home

For two years, Angelina Jones disappeared from Portage County's box scores. During her two years at Streetsboro, where she moved for family reasons, she didn't participate in any high school sports.

"I was going through the transfer stuff, so I couldn't play any sports technically," Jones said. "But I also chose not to play sports because I knew I was going to come back to Windham for my senior year."

There was no question her heart remained in Windham, as evidenced by the fact Jones kept showing up at Bombers games. Jones recalled attending a Windham baseball game last year with softball standouts Ka'Neese Cunningham and Brielle Jones. The full-court press was on, with the two already talking about getting her back for volleyball season.

It wasn't a hard sell.

"I was definitely missing it a lot, like, just the people that I play with and grew up with," Jones said. "Being on the same team with them for so long and then not playing and watching them play just hurt my soul, so that kind of just made me want to come back."

Angelina Jones overcomes obstacles

That's not to say that Angelina Jones' return was seamless. Far from it.

Indeed, Jones discovered she suddenly had a hard time making even the shortest of throws upon her return to the Bombers. It was particularly puzzling since she had no such issues as a freshman.

"When I tell you I could not throw, like, I could not throw," Jones said. "My throws were horrendous."

That was the most immediate challenge.

There was also the fact Windham's program had changed since Jones last played for the Bombers. A new coach — VanKirk took over last year — brought new expectations and Jones had to adapt.

"Tom kind of changed everything for everybody else whenever he came in," Jones said. "So I felt a little behind because everybody already knew what they were doing, but then I just kept practicing and practicing and I finally got the footwork down. My throws were getting better."

If there were adjustments Jones had to make on the field, she was a seamless fit in the dugout, per VanKirk, meshing perfectly with his focus on accountability and consistency.

"You want to have fun, but you got to have a little bit of discipline mixed in there and accountability," VanKirk said. "I'm big on that, our coaches, everybody, and she bought right into that right away."

Angelina Jones' breakout season

It was a shaky start, but Jones eventually got those throws down. And once she did, she shone.

Ironically, after those early throwing issues, Jones ended up playing Gold Glove-caliber defense, as far as VanKirk is concerned.

"I've coached a lot of softball players, a couple hundred," VanKirk said. "She's one of the absolute best at tracking the ball I've ever had."

And, of course, Jones had a big year offensively as well, starting with four runs in her first game back against Lordstown, shortly followed by a 3-for-4 day at the plate in a close loss to Fairport Harding.

"I definitely think that the season has been a lot more about confidence for myself," Jones said. "When I was a freshman, I was not confident at all. I was also kind of little, like I was, and I gained a little bit more weight and muscle, so it just made me a little bit more confident for this season."

She was confident.

She was doing well.

And, most important, she was home.