At the conclusion of a high school softball game between West and East last week at Albrecht Fields, Anchorage softball coach Richard Knowles stood outside a chain-link fence and pointed out a couple of his players.
"That's one of my girls," he said of West freshman Nanea Tali, who belted a triple during the game.
"She was one of my girls too," he said of East freshman Hannah Peterson, who scored the winning run for East.
Tali and Peterson were both part of Knowles' Nunaka Valley Little League team that took third place in last year's Little League Softball World Series. They are also part of a small army of Nunaka Valley players who have made their way onto varsity teams all over Anchorage.
In the seven years Knowles, 67, has coached with Nunaka Valley, the girls program has enjoyed tremendous success, winning six state titles and sending teams to the Little League Softball World Series in 2009 and 2011. Last season was his last coaching for Nunaka Valley, however, as his coaching career is beginning to wind down.
While the program's success is a product of several factors -- including talented players and dedicated volunteer coaches -- it may not have been possible without Knowles.
"I gotta give him all the credit," said Nunaka Valley Little League president Greg Davis. "He's been the backbone."
Of the 12 girls on the 2011 World Series team, 10 are playing varsity softball this season, one is still in middle school and one chose not to play.
Overall, there are more than 30 girls playing for Anchorage high schools that developed their games in the Nunaka Valley program.
Knowles said freshmen generally don't make varsity teams, but the majority of his former players do.
"As 14-year-olds, we were beating high school teams," he said.
The secret to Nunaka Valley's success isn't really much of a secret. Practice, practice and more practice is the key, Knowles said.
Knowles, who is self-employed, scheduled practices on the fields behind Nunaka Valley Elementary School every weekday during summers.
"Most of the coaches work during the day, so they try to practice on weekends," he said. "I didn't have a job to speak of, so I had the opportunity to spend time with these kids. I was lucky I had a special group of kids that always wanted to be there."
Pitchers and catchers arrived at 9 a.m., with others joining in at 10 and practicing until around noon. On many days, the girls took a lunch break and then continued to practice for a couple more hours in the afternoon before going off to play in their evening league games.
The six or eight hours of softball each day made summer fly by, East sophomore Sydney Smith said.
"Softball is your whole summer," said Smith, who pitched for both Little League World Series teams. "You're like a family with your team."
Practices included everything from catching fly balls in the outfield to running the bases. Players sometimes took batting practice in cages and grooved their swings on the field at other times. To keep the work from becoming stale, Knowles had them play games, usually of the fast-paced variety.
"I tried to keep them fun, so they'd stay interested," he said. "Every Friday we'd play some kind of game I made up. A lot of girls tell me they're going to miss that 9 a.m. practice."
Smith, who now routinely wins games for the Thunderbirds, said she probably wouldn't have done much else with her summer days anyway.
"Maybe eat ice cream," she said.
West junior Pauline Tufi, who helped the Eagles to a high school state championship last season, was part of Nunaka Valley teams in 2008 and 2010. The strong-armed pitcher said she finds herself facing old teammates in almost every high school game, and she loves it.
"You just have a bond with people you grow up with, you love each other," she said. "On the field you're enemies, but off the field you're family."
Knowles said practices were always open to anyone, so players from other districts would sometimes join in.
He learned most of the drills and games at out-of-state camps designed for college coaches. "I was the only Little League coach there," he said.
Knowles began coaching in 1982, when his son started playing Little League baseball. He isn't coaching Nunaka Valley this summer but he is coaching the junior varsity team at East, where two of his daughters play for the varsity squad. Senior Erica Meyerson plays third base and freshman Gabby Meyerson is a catcher.
When Gabby graduates in three years, Knowles said he will probably hang it up for good.
Until then, he plans to help Nunaka Valley's new coaches transition smoothly into the program in the hope the league's winning ways continue.
"After a while it starts snowballing, because other kids want to keep the success going," he said.
Reach Jeremy Peters at jpeters@adn.com or 257-4335.
By JEREMY PETERS
Anchorage Daily News