FORT SILL, Okla. -- With gold medals and a championship in their sights, the coaches and players of the 2012 All-Army Softball Team believe they have the right mix of veterans and new talent to win the All Armed Forces Championship here Sept. 15-21.
Two of those long-of-tooth players are Dexter Avery and Michael Dochwat, who together have played 25 years on the All Army team.
"The guys are what keep me coming back to All Army softball," said Avery, a 14-year veteran who enjoys representing the Army. "For 30-45 days we have a great time and develop a camaraderie most people never experience."
He said fielding the best players isn't critical to winning at this level.
"You need guys who understand the team concept and can match up together -- we have that," said Avery, a broad-shouldered 42-year-old first baseman. "This team will be very competitive."
Like many players, Avery plays wherever Victor Rivera, the team's coach, needs him. Likewise, Dochwat made the hot corner at third base his home for 11 years.
Home is a multi-faceted concept for the burly Dochwat. This year he's behind home plate gunning out base stealers and providing an imposing presence to those thinking of bowling over the catcher to score a run. More importantly, when he suits up for his last go round as a player, he will do it here in what could be seen as his home where his Army career began.
"I have almost 19 years in the Army, and it's fitting for me to end it here. As a field artillery Soldier, I came through here for [Basic Combat Training] and [Advanced Individual Training]. It would be nice to end my softball career at Fort Sill," said Dochwat, a forward observer.
After he hangs up his spikes, he hopes to return in 2013 as a coach and help continue the tradition of Army excellence in softball.
"I did my time as a player and put 11 years into the program," he said. "I can still do all the things I need to do as a player, but it's time for me to step down, move on to coaching and recruiting to help find the next decade of All Army players."
Those new players will contend with a busy camp should they step up and accept the challenge.
Avery said the team practices at least seven hours a day including three to four hours in the morning. They play two games in evenings that can take four hours, combined, to complete. In addition to that time, the players hit the gym in the afternoon to maintain their fitness. He added he runs, lifts weights and does a lot of stretching as flexibility is important in softball. Dochwat credited the Army's shift in physical fitness strategies for best preparing his body to play softball.
"I do a lot of core exercises, and for me physical readiness training (PRT) is perfect, because it's more of an overall body exercise," he said. "The old standard of sit-ups, push-ups and the 4-mile run would get guys in shape but in a different way from what's needed in softball."
Dochwat said he generates a lot of power from his legs and hips, and the PRT helps keep him strong and flexible. Given that he said he's capable of hitting a softball more than 400 feet suggests he's well acquainted with the mechanics of power hitting.
However, this isn't a game where power rules. With an eight-homer limit on the number of balls that can be hit over the fence (balls hit over after that are outs), Army softball players manufacture runs more often than showing off their tape measure blasts. Avery said his more than 20 years softball experience and his thorough understanding of the game help him to do what's needed.
"We all want to be perfectionists, but that will never happen," he said. "So, you try to do your best, and through practice and self-confidence, perform when called on."
Though both men are big enough to hit balls into adjacent zip codes, Avery and Dochwat can spray base hits to any field to load the bases for another Army power hitter. Since most teams use a five-infielder, three-outfielder defensive scheme, adjusting to different looks can be the difference between a big inning and three-up, three-down.
With four gold medals draped about his neck, Avery knows what it's like to be the best. He said this year's team is younger and faster than previous years but the jury is still out for comparing whether or not this is the best team he's played on.
"Hopefully, we can keep this momentum moving forward, win the tournament and win the gold medal," said Dochwat. "That would be really special for me."
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