"We have the right attitude and I know we have the ability," Sally Whittaker-Kahan said Tuesday.

The "we" is her Northampton softball team, which has been idle since losing to Emmaus in the Lehigh Valley Conference semifinals on Monday a week ago.

Now the Konkrete Kids, who are seeded second in the District 11 4A playoffs, are getting ready for Pottsville.

Pottsville, a Schuylkill League entry, knocked off Nazareth 5-2 Tuesday in first-round play and visits Northampton for a 4 p.m. quarterfinal game Thursday. The Konkrete Kids (19-2) take on the No. 10 seed Maroon (16-6) at Charles Nicholas Field and are heavy favorites.

"We don't know much about Pottsville," says Whittaker-Kahan, "but they must be pretty good. We beat Nazareth twice in close games and expected to meet the Eagles again."

Meanwhile, the Northampton's girls had the weekend off.

"When we started to practice we worked on a lot of little things," Whittaker-Kahan said. "We tweaked our batting order by moving Megan Tiwold from the five-hole to third, and dropping Tori Gollie to clean up and Bri Dalton to fifth."

Whittaker-Kahan said all-LVC pitcher Marly Laubach is "chomping at the bit" to start pitching again.

Laubach was the only Konkrete Kid selected all-conference, but four others received honorable mention: shortstop Dalton, outfielder Leandra Sterner, utility player Kendel Reed and third baseman Tori Gollie.

"We're looking forward to the districts," said Whittaker-Kahan, "and are hoping to take the championship."

By the way, only the District 11 champion qualifies for the PIAA tournament no runner-up as in other years.