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lunch together every day. We spend a lot of time talking about coaching and teaching methods, comparing notes on conditioning and nutrition. It creates a great environment, and it’s one of the biggest reasons why I will stay in Division III. That opportunity to interact with other coaches keeps me learning and jazzed about my job. What was it like coaching the Croatian National Team? It was crazy and it was a lot of fun. Croatia is a very athletic nation, but softball was almost a non-entity. There are a couple of baseball diamonds that we used for infield work, but everything else is essentially pasture. They were just getting started in the 1990s, and there was very little equipment to be found in the entire country. If you took a bunch of Americans over there, they probably would have panicked, but those kids said, “Hey, this is what we’ve got, let’s make the most of it.”
there are also a lot more people interested in doing it. My best advice for people starting out now is just to jump in with both feet. If there’s an opportunity and you feel like it might work, do it. Learn as much as you can every day. Go to clinics. Sit in the stands with other coaches and pick their brains. Make as many connections as you can—not just for job opportunities but for improving yourself. Read everything you can get your hands on about lead-
ership. Understand that being a good coach has as much to do with interpersonal relationships as it does with skills. The bottom line is that you have to love coaching. If you don’t love getting up and doing it every day, it’s not for you. It takes too much of an emotional commitment to do it well. You can’t treat this like a job. You really have to live it alongside your athletes. You’re asking them to make a huge commitment, and you have to be willing to do the same.
I coached the team through the European championships in 1999 and 2001. They really bought in, worked hard, and trusted me from the get-go. They had to make a lot of sacrifices to be able to play. They had jobs and school, and just seeing them get really excited about playing was a lot of fun. What did you learn from taking the New England delegation to Cuba? The biggest lessons came from seeing the hardships that the Cuban youngsters have to deal with, and seeing their love of the game. We played the cream of the crop—this was their Junior Olympic team—but the fields were still not at the level we’re used to here. Basic things that we take for granted—shampoo, toilet paper, and soap—are just not available there. The organizers of the trip had our kids bring toiletries for the Cuban players, and they were so grateful—and these are middle class, well-educated Cubans. So the biggest lesson was how hard people all over the world have to work for the little things. What advice can you offer about building a coaching career? I started coaching in 1987, when softball was relatively new in college. I walked in to the athletic director’s office and said, “The head coach needs help and I need a job. Hire me.” And they did. Then when the head coach left, I went back in and said, “You need a coach. I’ll work cheap. Hire me.” It’s very different for a young coach today. There are a lot more opportunities, but
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