It’s not winter yet, but the Norwich softball team is primed, eager and ready for a successful season. Under a new head coach, the team is looking for a fresh start.
Rather than reaching out and exhausting resources, the Norwich athletic department got a warm inquiry from a member of the university.
Gregory McGrath applied for the position after hearing about the available spot this fall. Subsequently, McGrath was hired to the first head coaching position of his career.
McGrath is in his fifth year at Norwich University. Director of the Campus Center and Student Activities, he is a graduate of SUNY-Plattsburgh in Plattsburgh, N.Y.
He had been interested in some type of coaching position last season; however, when he inquired about an assistant coaching slot, it had already been filled.
McGrath’s interest in the head coaching position “emphasized my advising background as oppose to my coaching background.”
Over the years, softball has become, “a big part of my life,” McGrath said. McGrath played 157 softball games this past summer between tournaments and league games. McGrath has also been an ASA (Amateur Softball Association) umpire for the past two seasons.
His approach to coaching may take a different path than coaches of the past. In his first year as head coach, he is taking a different approach to team goals.
“This year in particular, I come into it wanting the women to set the team goals,” McGrath said. “I came into wanting to know what they wanted to do and hoping to drive them and increase their expectations and help them reach those goals.”
In early September, the women “were eager and anxious to get out and practice and play,” McGrath said. “I’ve gotten to meet them, I’ve gotten to know them, and I’ve worked with them.” McGrath has had the opportunity to meet and socialize with the team in his first year as head coach.
The Cadets have had the luxury of practicing on the field, also playing a double header against St. Michaels College on Oct. 8. “We’ve had some workouts inside Shapiro Field House, we’ve had some workouts on our own field,” McGrath said.
“The maximum roster spot is 15, and I believe I have eight or nine returners and have anywhere from 18 to 22 women interested in trying out,” McGrath said.
Competition for those spots is going to be very stiff considering McGrath also has seven women who are transferring in for the spring semester who are interested in the sport.
McGrath plans to hold tryouts for two to three days starting Feb. 1. The tryouts are “open to anybody and everybody regardless of whether they worked out in the winter,” McGrath said.
However, credit will go to the players who “worked out throughout the winter and put in all the fundraising effort, and conditioning effort, excluding fall athletes,” McGrath said.
“I’d like to add that I’m excited about the season because I think this team can do well,” McGrath said. “The returners are very strong, and we have got at least one brand new freshman that has come in that is going to help this team a great deal that will probably start all four years here,” McGrath said. “I just see good things with the team.”
Because of the harsh Vermont weather, the team doesn’t know when it will be able to practice outside. “Playing softball in the Northeast in the springtime is a shot in the dark every day,” McGrath said.
“We may have snow on the ground until May 1 and not get a chance to get outside and play, that’s the greatest challenge because we will be inside a field house doing all of our practices,” McGrath said.
“There is potential that our very first game could be the very first time we are on the field, and that is a huge setback,” McGrath said.
The most exciting part about coaching the team for McGrath is “the opportunity to work with these women who are so excited and passionate about this team and I am excited to be part of the leadership with and for them,” he said.
“I enjoy it and I hope I have the opportunity to do it more than one year,” he said.
The players seem to be having a good time this fall and lifting seems to bring the team together well. “We do a lot of team bonding, and we seem to be getting along well so far,” said Christine Clark, 19, a freshman nursing major from Weymouth, Mass.
Clark, a centerfielder, has played softball since middle school and thinks that the variation in games played could affect her physical ability. “I will probably be more tired but lifting now will help with my endurance,” she said.
Workouts have gone “pretty good, we have it three days a week and they are making me tired but I know it is helping me a lot,” Clark said.
Workouts are good for the majority of players, even though they may seem to be tiring at times. “At times I hate them but they are definitely working in the long run,” said Brittany Ramsey, 18, a freshman criminal justice major from Brunswick, Vt.
Workouts are putting the team in a good position to be successful this season but “being in shape we will be all set but there are things like hitting that we need to work on,” Ramsey said.
A major part of a team working together is team chemistry. “I think encouraging eachother, even if you do something bad,” Clark said.
The team seems to be working well together. “We eat together almost every night,” Clark said.
With the introduction of fresh talent and a new head coach, the Cadets may just get the spark they need to become a true contender in 2010.