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Durant High School employee Jim Delaney has always wanted to be a head coach, and now he has a chance to fulfill his dreams after being hired as the Se fner Christian softball coach in August last year. Former Crusaders coach Mike Cates stepped down and helped bring Delaney in to replace him. He has coached various sports for 13 years and was most recently an assistant baseball coach at Durant, where he said he watched and learned how a stellar high school program is run under coach Butch Valdes. He started the GameTime Softball travel organization in the summer of 2020 for local high school players to participate in summer and fall tournaments.

“When I found out, I was super excited. There’s really no words to describe it,” Delaney said about being o f ered the job. “It’s a great opportunity, and I’m ready.”

Delaney had to talk things over with his daughter, Paige Delaney, who is a senior softball player at Durant, to make sure she was okay with him coaching at another school. It’ll be the first season that he hasn’t coached her.

“I have played for my dad my entire softball career, but I would have to say what I enjoyed the most was always feeling comfortable and confident on the field knowing I had one of my biggest supporters always right there with me,” she said.

The Crusaders head man looks to continue the recent success of the program the last few seasons. The team was o f to a record start in 2020 before the season was canceled, went to the regional finals and won districts in 2021, and last season made it to regionals again. Delaney has established his own culture and built a rapport with his players during the o fseason. He added a great coaching sta f , which includes two 2014 softball state champions in former Bloomingdale Lady Bulls Darby (Bernaldo) Moore and Jenna Beswick.

By Nick Nahas

“I wanted to help coach Delaney because I align with his vision to continue to grow Se f ner Christian softball,” said Moore. “He brings a new mentality to the program that continues to build o f the previous coaching sta f . Coach Delaney is focused, knowledgeable and goal-oriented. This will only continue to better Se f ner Christian softball and all the girls that come through this program.”

Delaney is hopeful for a great season. His team lost about eight seniors but returns with three of its top pitchers. He and his coaching sta f want to instill growth, development, accountability and culture in the players. He will also hold himself and his coaching sta f to those exact standards.

“We want everybody to understand what we’re doing, why we’re doing it and make sure that everybody on our roster on varsity and JV get better and they have fun competing,” said Delaney. “Our motto is ‘Have fun competing.’” His new players are excited to play and learn from him every day.

“The most important thing that he has taught me is that it’s OK to make mistakes, it’s what you do after; that is how you get better,” said senior outfielder and pitcher Carlee Medlin. “I’m looking forward to becoming the best player that I can be and making great memories.”

Former Se f ner Christian softball player and current Crusaders head junior varsity coach Addison Brady thinks that Delaney is a great fit for the program moving forward.

“Coach Delaney truly cares for the team and gives each player his full effort to help them become the best people they can be,” she said. “His ability to promote fun and learning while leading the girls will benefit the team. Growing the program will come with obstacles, but he has the motivation, expertise and optimism to cultivate a successful season for SCA softball.”

Tampa Bay Strikers And Head Coach Gramatica Gear Up For Inaugural Season

The Tampa Bay Strikers of the National Indoor Soccer League (NISL) kicked of their inaugural 16-game season in January. The team named former Buccaneers kicker and 2002 Super Bowl champion Martin Gramatica, head coach of both the men’s and women’s teams last July.

The team was one of two expansion teams added to the former three-team league after its first season in 2022. The Central Florida Crusaders in Orlando were the other team. Home games will be played at the Yuengling Center on the USF campus, and both teams are made up of roughly 20-25 athletes from the Tampa Bay area.

“When we started the search for our head coach, there were several qualities we were looking for in our candidates in addition to soccer experience: passion, leadership and a proven winning track record, plus someone committed to the Tampa Bay community,” Strikers co-owner Andrew Haines said in the introductory press conference in July 2022. “We feel Martin Gramatica has all of those characteristics and more.”

The 1997 Lou Groza Award winner jumped at the opportunity to coach the Strikers and is thrilled that the team will showcase local talent.

“Soccer is my passion,” said Gramatica.

“I’ve been around and involved with soccer my whole life, so I was very excited for the opportunity, especially coaching for my hometown. To be able to give our local kids a chance to play at a high level is exciting.”

The former kicker and soccer player is impressed with his players’ work ethic, competitiveness and technical skills but knows that it takes more than that to be successful.

“At the end of the day, I always tell the players that the X’s and O’s and technicality don’t matter if you don’t have heart and passion for the game,” he said. “I believe we have the right group for that.”

The Super Bowl champion’s goal is for both teams to win a championship.

“I’ve said this from day one for both teams, there’s no excuses,” he said. “That’s one of the rules we had with coach Dungy: no excuses, no explanation. I don’t care if we’re an expansion team, I don’t care if we don’t have an indoor facility to practice in. We’re going to go compete and we’re going to go win. That’s the bottom line, you play sports to win, you don’t go to participate. We’re not giving out participation medals. We’re going to do whatever it takes to try to win the championship.”

The team’s full home schedule can be found on their website, www.tbstrikers. com.