Most high school softball seasons end in May or June.

But there's no end date to Kaitlin Hoffman's season - because she never stops.No matter what month, day or time it is, you'll find the Northern Lehigh captain working on her game.Hoffman's softball-stuffed offseasons have helped her become the elite player that she is today. Her dedication propelled her to the Times News Player of the Year award for the second consecutive season.Less than a week after the 2017 Northern Lehigh season was over, Hoffman was off to play with the Chaos 18U fast-pitch softball team in Philadelphia"This was my first year playing with them," said Hoffman, who verbally committed to Fairfield University. "It definitely opened a bunch of doors for me. We go all over the place and we play every weekend until the beginning of August."For example, the last two weekends, we started playing on Wednesday and finished on Sunday. It definitely gets me a lot of reps and gives me a lot of experience."At the dish this season, Hoffman hit .508 and slugged six home runs. She mentioned that her power was a testament to all of the offseason work."I definitely think I've gotten stronger," Hoffman said. "In years past, we've done weightlifting programs, but we really buckled down this year.I think that helped my hitting and my pitching."We worked on some of the spins pitching-wise in the offseason too. You see different spins in tournament ball and you want to learn them and master them. I think that showed this year, I've had more success pitching. All of that experience definitely helps throughout the year. "Speaking of pitching, Hoffman excelled in that facet of the game as well for the Bulldogs.A few years ago, Hoffman decided she didn't want to pitch anymore. But she stepped into the circle when the Bulldogs needed her this year. Hoffman won 10 games and struck out 153 batters during her junior campaign."She's maturing and her leadership has definitely improved a lot," said Northern Lehigh head coach Robert Hicks. "She was a captain this year."I also called upon her this year to pitch. I wasn't really going to have her pitch a lot. But she came forward and did an awesome job."Hoffman said she fell in love with the game at an early age, which is why the motivation to succeed isn't hard to find."Softball has always been my No. 1 sport," she said. "I picked up a whiffle ball bat when I was 3. My dad always tells me that I would ask him to go out in the yard and hit the ball off the tee. It has always been my true passion."It's definitely my escape from the real world. If I have a bad day, I just go to softball and everything goes away. I can go hit and field, and it relieves a whole bunch of stress."From Fisher Price to DeMarini and Louisville Slugger, there has been one person right behind her every step of the way."My dad actually has the (baseball) RBI record at the high school," said Hoffman, of her father, Mark, who is the assistant Northern Lehigh softball coach. "He definitely helped me with hitting, and he's my pitching coach."He keeps me sane, I'll just say that. He's definitely my No. 1 fan and my biggest supporter. We're really inseparable."Hoffman helped lead the Bulldogs to the District 11 playoffs for the third consecutive season. The Bulldogs reached the District 11 3A championship, but came up short to Pine Grove."Every year since I've played in high school, we've gotten better," she said. "We made it to the first round of district play, and then the second round my sophomore year, and we went to the finals this year. I think we are going to grow from that experience and get further next season."Hoffman's talent didn't go unnoticed, and area coaches started to adjust by pitching around her.Despite getting different treatment at the plate, Hoffman hit a major milestone this season - getting her 100th career hit."Achieving that my junior year was unbelievable," Hoffman said. "I honestly didn't know that I was close. When they came out with that banner I was so surprised."You might not know where Hoffman is this summer. But whatever state she's playing in, or facility she's training at, you can guarantee that she is crafting her skills and preparing to take the Bulldogs to the next level."I just like to play the game," said the two-time Player of the Year. "The amount of pressure on me is the same. I don't feel like it's any different, I just try to settle in and see what I can do."