CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coastal Bend Tidal Wave have excited fans in the stands as they play their inaugural season.
Some of those fans are young girls that look up to the professional softball players on the field.
"The atmosphere that's created by them chasing every foul ball, chasing everything down and just sitting there during [batting practice] and seeing the oohs and aahs," Tidal Wave Head Coach Blake Miller said.
Miller said kids coming to their games are amazed by what his players can do on the field. He said the dream is always there for kids to one day become a pro softball player.
"I wish I had a team like this to come watch as a kid. Like a pro team to know that it was possible," Tidal Wave Shortstop Tatum Anzaldo said.
Anzaldo played for the University of California, Berkeley and said she wondered what she would do next—until the opportunity came to play for the Tidal Wave. She explained that her team wants to grow the sport for those who will play it in the future.
"Make sure that it's as big as it can be for the next generation, cause that's all that matters. The kids that come out are the point of the game," Anzaldo said.
Cataleya Gomez is eight years old and started playing softball about a year ago. She traveled from the Valley to see the Tidal Wave play for the first time. She said she can learn from pro players to improve her own skills.
"When I play 10U, like, I can watch them play however, like, how they play right now," Gomez said.
Anzaldo said pro players also have an opportunity to use their social media accounts to grow pro softball when they post about it.
She added that she would like to give lessons and mentor young players in the area. She gave advice to kids that want to one day be pro softball players.
"I feel like no dream is really impossible, like, if you think that you could do it, you better just go do it, and the only thing that's going to stop you from doing it is you," Anzaldo said.
Anzaldo said she invites people to watch the Tidal Wave play as the regular season wraps up. They play home games at Fairgrounds Field in Robstown.