Del Oro, Whitney made each other better behind Erickson, Steele

There was little separating Del Oro and Whitney throughout the high school softball season. The Sierra Foothill League powers shared the league championship, made deep postseason runs and established themselves among Northern California's elite. With résumés that were equally impressive in different ways, Del Oro's Sean Erickson and Whitney's April Steele have been selected as the Gold Mountain California News Media Co-Coaches of the Year. Erickson guided Del Oro to a 23-8 record and another memorable postseason run. The Golden Eagles captured a share of the Sierra Foothill League title, advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship game and claimed their second consecutive CIF Division II NorCal crown. Steele led Whitney to one of the best seasons in program history. The Wildcats finished 26-9, earned a share of the Sierra Foothill League championship, captured the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title and advanced to the CIF Division I NorCal final. The two programs have become measuring sticks for one another, something both coaches embrace. "I think we both continually win, so we continually get good players coming in," Steele said. "There's a ton of talent in the area, so we're kind of splitting the talent between us. It's just a matter of who comes to play on any given day. We both know each other's lineups can hit, so it comes down to who strings the right hits together or gets the big stolen base at the right time." For Erickson, the rivalry goes beyond wins and losses. "I've known April since she was about 14 or 15 years old," Erickson said. "We have a good friendship, and we respect and appreciate each other very much. If she beats me, I'm going to give her a hug and tip my cap. If we get them, I want her to know she'll always have my respect." That mutual respect fueled one of the area's best rivalries this spring. Whitney handed Del Oro an early loss behind sophomore pitcher and Large School Player of the Year Taylor Cordell, forcing Erickson to reevaluate a team that entered the year with lofty expectations. "The biggest thing Whitney taught us was vulnerability," Erickson said. "We realized we weren't above the fray. We had vulnerabilities we didn't anticipate, and they exposed them. It made us better." Rather than standing pat, Erickson shuffled his lineup throughout the season, leaned on multiple pitchers and searched for the right combination. "I didn't like the chemistry," Erickson said. "We kept mixing things up until it started tasting a little sweeter. By the end of the season, we had the right girls in the right spots." Whitney's success was built on a similar willingness to develop players rather than simply rely on talent. "We're a public school. We don't get to handpick players," Steele said. "We have to build them. We move kids around, develop them and put them in the best position to succeed. It's a little more work, but I take pride in that because these are just girls from our area crushing it together." That culture has helped turn postseason success into an expectation, and Steele says it is a testament to her entire coaching staff as they view themselves as equals. "We're supposed to be the last team standing," Steele said. "Sometimes, it's the last week of school and we're still practicing, and it's quiet around campus. That's become our culture here." In the end, neither coach viewed the rivalry as one program trying to surpass the other. Instead, each credited the other for helping raise the standard. "I would give a lot of the credit for our success to the competition with Whitney this season," Erickson said. "They made us identify who we were, and I think we made each other better." Together, Erickson and Steele set the standard in the SFL, leading two programs that spent the spring competing for championships at every level.