New coach brings expectations with excitement to softball program
Posted by The Skyliner on September 30th, 2009Billy Cannada
Staff Writer
Sarah Hall was hired as the new softball coach on Aug. 10, replacing athletic director Jan McDonald. (Photo by Daniel Jamison)
Spring will bring a different look to the 2010 North Greenville softball team with the addition of their new head coach Sarah Hall. She was hired Aug. 10 and arrived in Tigerville with high expectations.
“I want teams to be scared to play us,” Hall said. She is replacing athletic director Jan McDonald, who stepped down as head softball coach at the end of last season. “I want us to be one of the toughest games on everybody’s schedule.”
Hall comes to North Greenville having coached at a private school in Alabama and most recently Mauldin High School in Mauldin, S.C. Hall said that when she applied to North Greenville, she was not sure she would get the job.
“When the position opened I applied for the job, but I wasn’t expecting to be hired,” Hall said. “Coming here was totally God. I am really excited to be here at NGU coaching full time, sometimes it’s hard to hold it in.”
The first-year coach described herself as an “intense coach,” but says she also wants to have some fun this season.
“She’s tough,” second baseman Lauren Vick, sophomore early childhood education, said. “But I think she is exactly what this team needs to get to the next level.”
The team is looking to improve from their 18-18 season last year, and Hall has set some high goals for this year’s team, such as beating rival school Carson Newman and striving for a winning record in 2010.
“We have a lot of talent on our team and there are many goals I want us to accomplish in my first year here,” Hall said.
Hall admitted that the coaching change will be a “challenge.” Hall is not the only person who is getting used to the new look of the Crusader softball team. Returning players are also dealing with the recent change.
“I feel like the transition was great,” Vick said. “The first meeting, she let us know her rules and her goals for the team, so from that day on, we knew exactly what she wanted from us as individuals and as a team.”
Brittany Lybrand, sophomore sport management, said the players have bought into their new coach’s goals and have high expectations for the coming season.
“Coach Hall has a lot of energy, and we believe we will be able to live up to her expectations as well as the expectations we have for ourselves,” Lybrand said.
Hall will lead the Crusaders into a preseason tournament at Furman University Oct. 9-10.
Tags: Fall 2009, Vol. 109 - Issue 4