After completing her playing career, Paulick didn’t waste time in entering the coaching world and she didn’t have to go very far to take on the new title, either – in August, she was announced as the new assistant coach at Bellarmine.

Recently, after she got the first several weeks as Coach Paulick under her belt, Paulick talked about beginning her coaching career; playing and coaching in the same region as her hometown; and moving directly from her playing career to her coaching career.

JWOS: When did you know that you wanted to pursue a career in coaching?
Mollie Paulick: I always knew that I wanted to coach when I got done with school. I wasn’t sure where my skills would lead me, whether that was a strength coach or a coach in another capacity for a university team. That decision really became even more clear after my experience working with the coaching staff at EKU. I did my internship with them my sophomore year. I asked a ton of questions and it helped me gain insight to all the things that a coaching staff does behind the scenes to create a great team and coach players at the next level. Once I gained that perspective, I knew that is what I wanted to do once I graduated. 

JWOS: Did you have any qualms or uncertainties about going directly from being a college athlete to being a college coach? Has there been much of a learning curve that you’ve had to process since you got to Bellarmine?
Paulick: I was never super worried about that immediate transition into coaching after being a college athlete. When I began my 4^th and 5^th (COVID year) year as a player, I was ready to teach and learn more from the other side of the game. I knew that I would have to separate myself as a leader because I am still very young in my career, but I didn’t think it would be a problem for me personally. The biggest learning curve for me has been more about the dynamics of working for a coach I hadn’t worked with previously and learning my way around a new University program. Coach Hicks has been awesome and let me dive right into the team responsibilities. I am grateful that she has allowed me to gain traction early and let me have a full range of responsibilities despite length of experience as a coach. I’m learning so much about the coaching world, while leaning on my experience as a player to teach and help impact the team. 

JWOS: How important was it for you to begin your coaching career in the Midwest/southern region where you spent your playing career and where you’re from?
Paulick: I am very close to my family and that was a factor in looking for a coaching position.  The Midwest/southern region would be ideal for that close travel, but I was also looking for a program that supported a family mindset for me personally. The Bellarmine coaching position offered me the ideal situation for both of those things. 

JWOS: I asked you about potential downsides of going directly from your playing days to coaching, but what about upsides? Among others, I imagine the fact that you’re closely familiar with every “local” team’s scouting report is of benefit?
Paulick: The upsides of me coming right from playing is the team/girls know that I just got done with my own college career. I have credibility with the things I’m trying to teach them, and I’m not expecting them to do anything that I haven’t worked hard for or done myself. Whether that is with their fitness program or long days in the office we are here to support them. Another upside is that I still speak a language that makes sense to a player and reduces their learning curve in execution of the drills. I know what worked for me and my teammates. I can personalize the drills to impact each of these individual players where needed. Lastly, I do think my familiarity of this area gives me the ability to recruit top notch players to impact this program, but more importantly, I know what it takes to be successful at the D1 level after playing against some of the best players for 5 years. I am playing in the conference that I just left, and I know these other teams and what it will take to be success against them. 

JWOS: What’s your favorite memory from your playing career?
Paulick: My favorite memory is probably when we won our conference tournament this year. That tournament win displayed true teamwork. We had each other’s back, and it took all of us to get there. Our pitching staff did our job. I love that team so much, we really grew as people, not just players. I also think this year I learned the most about myself personally and professionally.  I battled an injury this final year, and early in the season I knew my role would be different. That experience taught me great lessons about adversity and that got me even more excited about transitioning to the coach role. 

JWOS: Describe your coaching style to me. What do you feel are your biggest attributes as a coach?
Paulick: I would describe my coaching style as the person that will push you but is also there to catch you when you fall. I hold players to a high standard and have expectations that include controlling effort and attitudes on the field and during practice. I get to know the individual player and help design that coaching approach around what they want to achieve. I talk a lot with players to understand what they are thinking and what they want. On-going conversations are crucial to the success of the program. The more we can work a plan together, the more the players will be invested in the results. 

JWOS: If we have this conversation a year from now, once you’ve got a full season under your belt, what needs to have happened for you to be able to say ‘this was a successful year’? What defines that for you
Paulick: In a year, if I’m gauging success over the last 12 months, it would include player growth from hard work and by trusting the process to get there. This will lead to team wins in different ways. Most importantly, we will compete in the conference against teams that we perhaps viewed as “stronger than us” the previous year. I want the team to grow by understanding effort and attitude can compete with any team we face and the belief that we can compete with them will lead to success. 

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Rodriguez spent the last five seasons as head coach at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, where she led the squad to an appearance in the NJCAA national tournament in 2021.

Prior to her tenure at Trinity Valley, Rodriguez was the inaugural head coach at Division I UTEP. She spent ten years leading the Miners and holds the program career wins record. Her coaching resume also includes a stint as co-head coach – with her husband James – at Eastern New Mexico, as well as stints at Schreiner University and Trinity University in the 1990s.

In taking over the Islanders’ program, Rodriguez takes the reins from Kristen Zaleski who left the program to become the volunteer assistant coach at Oklahoma. The Islanders posted an 18-30 overall record during the 2021 season, with an 8-16 record in Southland conference play.

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Gilstrap graduated from Clemson following the 2021 season after helping lead the Tigers to 44 wins and the ACC regular-season championship. Gilstrap was named to the All-ACC Third Team after batting .292 and starting 51 games.

Prior to finishing her career at Clemson, Gilstrap played at USC Upstate from 2015-18. She earned First Team all-conference honors in the ASun in 2017 and second-team honors in 2018, and was also named Most Valuable Player of the ASun conference tournament during the 2017 campaign.

In early September, Gilstrap was announced as an assistant coach at Division II UT-Tyler. She is a native of Blythewood, South Carolina.

At Winthrop, Gilstrap will join a coaching staff and a program coming off of a 26-24 overall record in 2021, as well as the third-best overall winning percentage in the conference and a tie for 4th place in the conference standings that saw them miss out on the Big South tournament by the narrowest of margins.

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Entering her fourth season as the Cardinals’ head coach, Aprile owns an overall record of 66-64-1 and a 27-33-1 showing against ACC opponents. The program finished the 2021 season with a 21-28-1 overall record and a 15-21-1 conference result.

“Holly has made a quick impact on our softball program,” Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra said in a school statement. “Her recent recruiting shows great promise for the future. Continuity goes a long way toward developing championship programs and this contract extensions will help solidify that continuity.”

In 2019, the Cardinals earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The squad finished sixth in the overall ACC standings during the 2021 campaign.

Aprile’s existing contract was set to expire following the 2022 season. Prior to her tenure in Louisville, she spent fourteen years as an assistant and head coach at Pittsburgh. She previously spent nine years as an assistant at South Carolina and enjoyed an All-American and Hall of Fame playing career at UMass from 1989-92.

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The shooting occurred early Sunday morning on the campus quad at Grambling, injuring seven people and killing one. The deceased victim has been publicly identified by investigators, but the names of the wounded victims, including Holliday, are only known through social media posts by others.

On Sunday evening, Tigers head coach Nakeya Hall posted a message on her public Facebook page about Holliday’s injury. “Man, it’s been a rough few hours. Please say a prayer for my assistant coach Chelsea Holliday, she was one of the victims from the shootings that occurred on campus earlier this morning,” Hall wrote. “Her surgery was a success, but she is still in a lot of pain. She is one of the strongest people I know. Although she had been injured, she still wanted to make sure everyone else was okay. My players and other assistant coach… are not okay, please pray for them. I appreciate all the calls and text messages from everyone. The outpouring of support and love has been greatly appreciated. We love you Coach Holli.”

Further updates from Hall included a live video on Monday afternoon showing the Grambling softball team and others joined in a prayer circle outside the hospital where Holliday and others are being treated. On Tuesday evening, Hall posted another update that included the note that Holliday was “doing okay. Her pain is still excruciating. She will be in the hospital for a couple of more days.”

A native of Burlington, New Jersey, Holliday played at Shaw University during her own collegiate career. She is listed as a graduate assistant coach at Grambling.

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Houston head coach Kristin Vesely has signed a contract extension, JWOS has learned.

Vesely’s new deal, which took effect on August 1st, is a three-year pact that will run through the 2024 season.

During the 2021 season, Houston finished the year with a 17-33 overall record and an 8-16 showing in conference play. In the abbreviated 2020 campaign, the Cougars were 16-7 overall and collected a 39-19 record with twelve conference wins in 2019.

Also during the 2019 season, the Cougars reached the regional final of the Austin Regional and advanced undefeated into championship Sunday before being upended by the hosting Longhorns.

Under Vesely’s guidance, Houston owns a 139-106 overall record and a 45-38 record against AAC opponents. Prior to taking the helm at UH, Vesely spent six seasons as an assistant with the Cougars.

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Don Justus has been named the new head coach at Division II New Haven.

Justus most recently was on staff at Division I Hartford, spending the summer as the program’s interim head coach. He spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach for the Hawks.

“We are excited to welcome Don and his family to the Charger Family,” New Haven athletic director Sheahon Zenger said in a school statement. “He has a proven track record of team success and has shown a unique ability to develop student-athletes as leaders both on and off the field. Don’s commitment to excellence, his work ethic and his experience make him a great fit for the Charger Softball program. I look forward to watching our student-athletes excel under his leadership.”

Prior to his tenure at Hartford, Justus spent a decade on staff at D2 Kutztown and his resume includes a two-year stint at Iona as pitching coach.

Justus’ departure from Hartford leaves that program with no active coaches as the program prepares to transition from Division I to Division III.

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Anderson spent nearly two decades as part of the WVSU program, initially joining the staff in 2004. He served as an assistant coach through the majority of his tenure before assuming the interim head coach role for the 2021 campaign.

Part of coaching staffs that helped lead the Yellow Jackets to two WVIAC tournament championships and a single Mountain East tournament championships, Anderson led the program to a 29-14 overall record during his stint as interim head coach. The Yellow Jackets went 3-2 in the conference tournament.

On Sunday, a number of Anderson’s former players and coaching colleagues shared tributes to him on social media. Numerous former players recounted his mentorship and care for the student-athletes that he coached, as well as the impact he made on those that he coached. One former coaching colleague wrote, “The world lost an amazing coach, but an even better person today.”

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Roser-Lefevers takes over the program from longtime head coach Michele Frew, who retired on September 2nd.

Arguably the greatest player to wear Tars colors, Roser-Lefevers played for Frew from 2008-11 and helped Rollins win the Sunshine State Conference Championship annually from 2009-2011. Roser-Lefevers earned First Team All-SCC honors in all four years of her career and was named the league’s Freshman of the Year in 2008. Roser-Lefevers earned NFCA All-American First Team honors in 2009 and 2011 and was recently elected to the Rollins Athletics Hall of Fame.

Following two seasons as head coach at Mars Hill, Roser-Lefevers rejoined the coaching staff at Queens in Charlotte this offseason where she previously spent four seasons as an assistant coach and associate head coach. Roser-Lefevers helped lead Queens to three consecutive South Atlantic Conference Championship appearances and one NCAA DII Southeast Regional appearance during her previous tenure on the program’s coaching staff. In 2018, the Royals recorded thirty-five wins, a program record, and earned their first-ever national ranking.

Prior to her first stint at Queens, Roser-LeFevers was the assistant coach at Seminole State College in Orlando for the 2015 season, helping the team amass a 51-9 record which ranked second in the state of Florida and fourth in the nation in the last NJCAA regular-season poll of 2015.

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When New Mexico sought out a new assistant coach this summer, the Lobos ultimately turned to a young coach with a solid playing resume and a coaching career diverse at multiple levels.

Kristen Hawkins was a four-year starter at Virginia during her playing career and was part of the first postseason victory in Cavalier program history. She finished her career with thirteen home runs and 57 RBIs, as well as 21 doubles to her credit in nearly 150 starts at UVA.

After her arrival in Albuquerque, Hawkins talked about her various coaching stops; differences between Division 1 and Division 2; and her new role with the Lobos.

JWOS: When did you know that you wanted to pursue a career in coaching?
Kristen Hawkins: I have always known that I would never be able to walk away from the game. I have an intense love and passion for the game and have always wanted to give back to others what the game, and all of my previous coaches, gifted me with.

JWOS: Describe your coaching style. What do you feel are your biggest attributes as a coach?
Hawkins: I am a very energetic and passionate coach. There will never be any doubt how much I love the game of softball and how much I want to compete and try to bring out the same in my players. I believe in my players and try to bring out the very best in them in all areas of life.

JWOS: What were the biggest pieces of knowledge that you gained during your playing career that have benefitted you as a coach?
Hawkins: I was extremely fortunate to have played under Eileen Schmidt at The University of Virginia and had her as my mentor and Head Coach. Coach was the biggest piece of knowledge for me in an various facets. Coach lead by example and through her guidance, I was able to learn exactly what kind of coach I wanted to be to my players. Coach taught me how to be a good leader, how to set high expectations and demand them to be met, but also have/show love and loyalty to your players as well. I learned patience because not every kid can be coached or taught in the same way, I saw how much someone’s love and passion for the game can influence others, I learned what it meant to be truly invested, to think outside of the box and how to do so, she taught me how to believe in myself and how it feels to be believed in, what it means and takes to be completely selfless for your program, but more importantly your players. Directly and indirectly coach taught me to be the coach I wanted and needed as a player, to think ahead, how to be responsible and carry myself, to take pride in what we do, and that none of us are bigger than the game. Coach taught me you get what you give, and what loyalty truly means. I could go on to be honest. I owe a great deal to all of my previous coaches for molding me into being the person I am today, but Coach Schmidt taught me more life lessons and about the game, during my adult years, that I will always look back on and be thankful for.

JWOS: What is your favorite moment or memory from your softball career to this point?
Hawkins: I have been extremely lucky throughout my career to have had so many memorable moments and humbling experiences as a player and a coach. I think two of my most favorite moments for me as a coach, was to see one of my players, Kim Jerrick, tie the LoneStar Conference career homerun record in 2015, and to watch my 2014 team at Midwestern State University lead the nation in homeruns that year. Coming right out of college, it was just so amazing and humbling to see the impact I had on these kids and the game of softball, and watching them work so hard to then achieve such major feats, is more rewarding than I could ever put into words. That was my very first team I coached, and they will always hold a special place in my heart.

JWOS: Is there a “learning curve”, so to speak, when you’re moving between Division I and Division II? Do the differences in rules, schedules, etc. require different approaches for you as a coach?
Hawkins: Going from playing at a power five school to then coaching at a Division II school was a pleasant surprise and I would say somewhat of a learning curve. I was always very thankful and appreciative of what we were able to do, where we traveled to, the food we were given, the gear we received, etc. when I played, so when I started coaching at the DII level, it was extremely humbling and eye opening to realize JUST how lucky we were and made my college experience that much more meaningful. From a coaching standpoint, I have never lost my DI mentality and I coach my players at that level no matter what, even if that means breaking drills down more and having to explain and teach more. I love teaching and talking the game. From a managerial standpoint, the game is played the same, monetarily from a budget standpoint there are differentiations, but you learn to adapt and get creative which is only beneficial in the long run.

JWOS: Any qualms about moving 3/4 of the way across the country for your new role? Even as part of the job, how do you strategize and build new recruiting contacts, etc.?
Hawkins: Zero qualms whatsoever. Right out of college I took the Assistant Softball coaching position at Midwestern State University, out in Texas. The road trip to get to New Mexico was absolutely incredible and I am fully in love with the weather and the food (especially the green chile ranch)! I am still in awe of how beautiful this state is and how lucky I am to be here. I have been very fortunate throughout my career, as a player and a coach, to have made numerous connections with other college coaches and travel organizations from all over the country. I love to work a lot of camps to not only find talent, but to meet and create relationships with other coaches, as well. Being able to sustain those relationships over the years has been a major benefit and made my transition easier.

JWOS: If we’re having this conversation a year from now, with your first season at UNM under your belt, what needs to have happened for you to be able to say ‘this has been a successful year’?
Hawkins: For me personally, a successful year involves a few angles. For instance, success to me is measured on the field and off the field. Did I make my players better as ballplayers and as individuals? Was I able to help my players further their education and help them through other curveballs life throws at us? Was I able to positively impact them? If I can say “yes” to all of that, then I think it was a successful year. Obviously we all want wins and to better the program, and I very much want to help turn this program around and bring it back to being a perennial powerhouse. I also know that that will not be accomplished in a year, so if I can make positive strides in that direction and help create a culture in order to do that, then that is a successful year, in my opinion.

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