Her enthusiasm is catching, so it's easy to see how she, husband Jake and their supporters in Deer Lodge convinced the school board to add high school softball this spring.
To date, Starr's Wardens are 0-2, but after an encouraging performance at Loyola Sacred Heart on Friday, they feel like the momentum is starting to build.
Now all the Wardens need are some wins. Smart money says they won't have to wait long.
Q. Start by telling us a little bit about your background in athletics and how you got into coaching. How'd you decide on coming to Montana?
A. My background is that I played softball and volleyball at St. Helens High School in Oregon and played college softball at Eastern Oregon University and ended up transferring to Western Oregon. I started coaching shortly after that at the junior varsity level at St. Helens.
I met my husband Jake while he was playing baseball at Eastern Oregon. After he graduated from dental school we decided to move to Missoula Š Then he got a job working at the (Montana State) prison and opened his own practice in Deer Lodge.
Q. Why was starting the high school softball program something you thought was important?
A. I've coached the 13-14 year-old Little League program here for 2 years and I saw the desire that these girls have. For them to have to be done with softball at age 15 just wasn't what we wanted. We've had girls travel to Butte just to keep playing and I thought it was a shame to have such talented girls not be able to play something that they love here. I love it as well, it's a passion of mine and I know how much softball helped me to become the person that I am.
Q. What are some of the challenges in starting the program from scratch?
A. I think the challenges have come with getting the girls to really know the game, like the fundamentals. We can teach them the fundamentals and then it just comes down to overall confidence.
I think also getting the community behind (softball), because I know that it's new for the town. But I know when people see the excitement of it, they'll become fans.
There are also challenges with getting the youth program built up. We have a lot of freshman and sophomores who want to play but have no experience.
Q. It must be nice, though, also to be able to sort of set the tone for this whole new program.
A. I agree completely. Some of these girls don't have any framework and we can build up their fundamentals and make sure they're sound from the very beginning, without bad habits. We create habits we want them to have. We want to make it positive, yet competitive. We set the expectations as we go, because we have nothing to compare it to. This first year will help us set expectations for the upcoming years.
Q. What's it like having your husband as an assistant coach?
A. We actually complement each other a lot. I'm very high energy and he's mellow. He just knows the game and he's just a great guy. The girls respond to him well, he's really good about building up their confidence. He knows the fundamentals so well that he can see a situation and see what girls are doing wrong or right and he can make adjustments.
Q. What are you telling the team about how they have a chance to start a new tradition at Deer Lodge?
A. You know, that's been a big thing that we're talking about, that this is new and we can start our own tradition. What we've been doing is each day a girl comes with a motivational thought for the day or something to inspire each other.
We want to have this be more like a college program in terms of it being one big program. Sure, there are junior varsity and varsity teams, but they are one thing. Each week someone from JV can earn a spot on the varsity team.
Q. You only have one senior on your roster. Is it a blessing and a curse to have such a young team?
A. What's funny is that some of our freshman and sophomores have actually earned more of a role. They've been together throughout Little League, whereas some of the older girls had quit (softball) going into high school to focus on the varsity letter sports. So, some of our more experienced girls are the younger ones.
Q. How badly does the team want to get that first win?
A. Oh my goodness, you don't understand. I think we were just getting our feet under us this first week. It was actually something they needed to see to believe that our softball program can do it. I know that we'll have wins, and I believe we can be a contender going into state and I think we'll be successful in upcoming years. I know the talent in these girls. They go home and practice things Š I have never had athletes that take the extra effort after practice because they want to be better and they want to have this.
Q. As a new coach, have you been nervous for the first couple of games?
A. Nobody wants to make a mistake, but I'm always telling the girls ‘Don't be afraid to be successful. You know how to make the plays. You know how to do the right thing.' All this week, Jake said to me ‘You remember what you're telling them, don't be afraid to make decisions. Trust yourself, because you've played enough and coached enough. You can do it.' I just keep telling them not to be afraid to be successful and that's what I keep telling myself.
Q. Are you getting good support from the community so far?
A. We have a lot of people and parents that really care about supporting these girls. They'll make the effort to travel to see them. Now that we are becoming an established program, I know there's a lot of buzz going around.
We have only three home games this year, because we became a program after most of the schedules were already finalized Š We play Drummond this Thursday. I think they'll become a rival because they're so close to us. After we play that first game against them, I think there will be a lot of people who come out and see the excitement.
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