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Sports

​Diamonds Out of the Rough (Excerpt)

A small town unites to save a special team.

(Editor's note: This article is sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods)

_All photos by Brian Kelley. _Words by Tim Struby.__

Twelve hands come together. "One, two, three, Fever!" yell the girls of the Diamond Fever 18U softball team. The starting nine bolt out of the dugout and onto Field 1 at the Botetourt Sports Complex for their first game of the ASA Virginia State Championship tournament. Dressed in their red and blue uniforms, the Fever girls try to ignore the Troutville, Va., heat, which isn't easy since it's only noon and already hot as a kiln. They're also trying not to think about Spartanburg, S.C., their potential destination if they play well this weekend and qualify for the ASA Nationals. Instead, players like Dom and Bri and C.C. are concentrating on their Sarasota Heat opponents, because if their head coach, Tim Bray, has taught them anything—and he's taught them quite a bit—it's to always stay focused on this game, this play, this pitch. When you're on the field, Bray says, nothing else matters.

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In the grandstands, LaDonna Varner, the Diamond Fever secretary and mother of player Kendall, breaks down what this tournament is all about. There are 66 traveling teams from across Virginia competing in various age divisions. For the Diamond Fever 18U squad, today's two games will determine their seed. Then, over the course of the weekend, they'll play in a double-elimination round robin, with the top two teams advancing to Spartanburg. "We're a young team," says Varner, pointing out that only two Diamond Fever players are actual 18 year-olds. "But we have fight."

In the grandstands, LaDonna Varner, the Diamond Fever secretary and mother of player Kendall, breaks down what this tournament is all about. There are 66 traveling teams from across Virginia competing in various age divisions. For the Diamond Fever 18U squad, today's two games will determine their seed. Then, over the course of the weekend, they'll play in a double-elimination round robin, with the top two teams advancing to Spartanburg. "We're a young team," says Varner, pointing out that only two Diamond Fever players are actual 18 year-olds. "But we have fight."

The Diamond Fever team story, however, isn't quite so simple. Formed in 1998, the Fever program has been the premiere girls' traveling softball organization in Pittsylvania County, Virginia's largest. Each May, the summer season begins, bringing with it 3-to-4 hour daily practices at their home field, the "Triple C" in Ringgold, plus tournament and showcase road trips nearly every weekend. But for these small-town girls, playing for Diamond Fever is much more than hundred-degree days, sweat-soaked uniforms and sore muscles. It's about friendship, family and community, building character and creating a future. "I can't even describe how much it means to play for Diamond Fever," says Kendall.

But back in 2012, the program was thrown a curve, and circumstances arose that no one had ever envisioned, let alone planned for. As they scrape their way to a 4-2 victory over the Heat, it's hard to imagine that the Diamond Fever story nearly came to an end.

For more on this story check out here.