Mike Vukovcan The 2026 season could be a developmental/transition season for the Hopewell HS Girls Softball team.
Hopewell head coach Ronda Koblek lost a number of core players from last season and will be looking for new players to rely on and win with. Fortunately, Hopewell’s group of freshmen is deep and talented, but varsity is different than JV.
The question is how long it will take them to get accustomed to playing against players that are many times much older than they are.
A&S Federal Credit Union are proud sponsors of Hopewell Boys and Girls High School, Junior High and Youth Sports.
Coach Koblek will have some returning starters, including junior Dakota Roche. Like the incoming freshman this year, Roche was an inexperienced player in 2025 but will be looked at as one of the Vikings team leaders this season.
Vikings Sports Now had the pleasure of recently talking with Roche about this coming season and how she originally got involved in the sport.
“I’ve been playing softball since I was 5 years old,” Roche tells Vikings Sports Now. “Growing up, I played softball and volleyball. In middle school, I played volleyball for two years.”
“It was one of my favorite things to do but, it got to the point where I felt as though I had to pick between softball and volleyball. Basically, it was a time commitment. Open gyms for volleyball were over the summer but that’s when I was playing with my travel softball team. When having to choose between the two, I’d always select softball. I didn’t want it every to get to the point where me not being there was used against me in volleyball, so I choose to prioritize my softball career and work to get as good as I can become.”
Roche tells me that one of the reasons she’s loved softball is because of the relationships she’s been able to create with her teams and coaches. There was one other reason that she mentioned.
“Plus, I’m good at softball and it’s fun to play something that you’re good at.”
One of the reasons, Roche is good in softball is because of the year-round time she’s put into the sport. Aside from the work with the Hopewell program, she’s been involved in travel organizations such as Keystone Combat and the Pittsburgh Power over the years.
Throughout her playing career, Roche has played either catcher or third base but that changed last season. Because of necessity, the Hopewell coaching staff approached her about playing first base. Although it wasn’t something that she was necessarily comfortable with, she wasn’t about to tell her coaches No.
“I was willing to step out of my comfort zone because I wanted to get on that varsity field no matter what position it was,” said Roche. “”My biggest challenge at first base was definitely my height (5’1″).”
“At our home field, if anything got over my head and over the fence, it’s a dead ball and runner gets an extra base. So, no matter what, I had to knock down the throw and keep everything in front of me. Because of my height, it was challenging but as the year went on, I think I got better and overall did better than I thought I would. I actually love playing the position now and believe I’ll be playing it again plus catching. Actually, I think that my experience playing catcher allowed me to be a better defensive first baseman due to receiving and picking the ball.”
Roche admits that while defense is the strong point of her game, with the Vikings losing senior hitters such as Kara Barkovich, Victoria Mann, Tallulah Showrank and Bella Katkich from last season, she’ll be looked upon to become more of an offensive contributor.
“I want to be more of a power hitter this year than just being known as a contact hitter,” said Roche. “Last year, I was used a lot as a bunter and this year, I want to be in the 5 spot or middle of the order and drive in runs. I want my teammates to say ‘Oh, Dakota is up, we’re fine, she’s going to hit. I really want my teammates and coaches to have confidence in me that I’m going to get the job done.”
Aside from her high school coaches, one of the people that’s worked with Roche to become a better hitter and overall player is her mom, Shanna.
Not only is she her mom, but she was a pretty good softball player in her day as well as being a successful travel softball head coach with the Pittsburgh Power. Dakota credits her mom with not only helping her on-field game but also in the mental side, which she admits was much needed.
“My mom really worked on helping me to control my emotions and if I messed up or didn’t make a play, that’s fine because I’ll make the next play. Softball is a game of errors; you’re not going to make every play. If I mess up, I need to tell myself I’ll make the next play.”
“My mom has helped me become the player I am, and she’s really helped me on the mental side. She’s extremely tough but has been the best coach that I’ve ever had. She’s tough and isn’t afraid to push her players. She just wants anyone that plays for her to be the best player that they’re capable of being. One thing she always says to me is don’t be sorry just be better. Don’t say you’re sorry about making a mistake, just go make the next one.”
As her mom helps her, Dakota is trying to do the same thing for her twin sister, Kamryn.
Kamryn also grew up playing softball, but her development was halted a couple of seasons ago after undergoing surgery on her wrist. She’s healthy now and is working to join her sister as a contributing member of the Hopewell varsity softball.
“I try and help her with her hitting,” Roche tells VSN. “She had wrist surgery and has been out for two years, so she’s really behind. But I think she’s really getting better, and I’ll do whatever I can to help her out. I’m truly proud of how hard she’s worked to come back from this and to try to get better.”
Roche is excited to get the season started, believes the future of Hopewell softball is strong and is looking forward to helping and mentoring the many young players on the 2026 roster.
