HORACE LANGFORD JR / PVT Players on the Pahrump Valley High School fast-pitch softball team practice, as the Lady Trojans prepare for a trip to River Valley, Ariz., for a three-day tournament starting Thursday. Advertisement

Pahrump Valley's new fast-pitch softball coach, Preston Dockter, is ready to see his rookie season begin.

"I'm eager to see the future," said Dockter, after the Lady Trojans completed its Monday practice at Floyd Field. "I want us to get better ... we need to have confidence, and that is what these tournaments are for ... to get experience."

Pahrump Valley is in the River Valley (Ariz.) Invitational tournament Thursday through Saturday. Next weekend, the PV girls travel to St. George, Utah, for the Dixie Invitational, and the following week, they play at Kingman, Ariz.

The league season doesn't begin until April 1, when PVHS hosts Overton Moapa Valley in a Southern 3-A doubleheader, starting at 1 p.m.

Fourteen of the defending league and regional champions' last 16 regular season games are against 3-A opponents. River Valley will visit for a doubleheader April 17.

With Tonopah and Spring Creek withdrawing from the River Valley tournament, the pairings have been re-set.

The Trojans, 23-22 last year, will open the River Valley tournament at 3 p.m. (MST) Thursday against Tuba City, Ariz., Greyhills. At 7:30, the Trojans will take on Holbrook, Ariz.

Friday's games are at noon, vs. Phoenix Christian; 4:30 p.m., vs. Lakeside Blue Ridge, and 7:30, vs. the host River Valley girls.

Saturday's finale is at 9 a.m. against Show Low, Ariz.

Dockter played football and baseball and wrestled at PVHS before going to Mayville State in North Dakota. At PVHS, he was an assistant football coach and helped Rich Lauver run the softball program for three years. Last fall, he was the head football coach at Rosemary Clarke Middle School and in fall 2008, he is slated to join Leo Verzilli's staff at PVHS as defensive coordinator.

"We're starting to gel pretty well," said Dockter, who has 14 girls on the varsity roster and another 19 -- including 12 freshmen -- on the JV team.

Dockter is aware of how high his profile will be this spring. In five years as the PVHS coach, Lauver won three state championships (in 2003, 2004 and 2005) and four league titles, as the Trojans went 129-79 in all games.

"But really, the program hasn't changed ... we still use the same terminology," said Dockter. "We will focus on the same things --hit the ball and play defense. Our objective is to stay ahead of the competition."

The league has been improving constantly over the last six years because of the presence of Pahrump Valley, "so we have to challenge our girls in different ways," said Dockter.

Winning the league title is always the goal for the PV girls. "And to be the best, we have to beat the best and right now in our league, it's Faith Lutheran with Jessie Tracy," said Dockter. Faith Lutheran was in control of the 2007 pennant chase when Tracy -- perhaps the league's best pitcher and one of its tougher clutch hitters -- was injured and forced to the sidelines with two weeks to go in the regular season.

Tracy is slated to return this spring -- which makes Faith Lutheran the team to watch ... and beat. Boulder City is always a threat and both Mesquite Virgin Valley and Moapa Valley have become playoff contenders.

The Southern playoffs are May 8-9-10 at Boulder City, with the state tournament May 15-16-17 at Bishop Manogue High School in Reno. Only the Southern champion will advance to the state semifinals. All playoffs are double-elimination formatted.

Third baseman Michelle Dannenberger and pitcher-outfielder Angelica Villa graduated, but returning are eight girls who were starters in 2007, when the Trojans started 0-9, won 14 of 16 league games and went 3-0 in the regionals before losing two of three in the state tournament.

The eight are:

Former third baseman and now catcher Becca Gamble, a sophomore;

First baseman Christine Gamble, a senior;

Second baseman Emily Poertner, a senior;

Shortstop Taylor Raymer, a sophomore;

Pitchers Ashleah Barney and Tori Thomas, both senior righthanders;

Catcher Liberty Rodriguez;

Outfielder Chelsea Cochrell.

Shayna Smith, a junior, and Casey Scheller, a freshman, are slated to be in the starting outfield. Leanne Morrow, a freshman, figures to battle her way into the lineup.

Dockter's staff includes varsity assistant Lori Goodell, the former head coach at Ely White Pine, and JV coach Kayla Critchlow.

And giving major support to Dockter in his first season as coach are his wife Katie and his parents. "They've been highly supportive and that has to benefit me," said Dockter.