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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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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As part of our preseason coverage, we’ll take a conference-by-conference look at the summer’s coaching moves and the impact the Coaching Carousel will have on each league specifically.

The ASun has been one of the biggest leagues in the grand scheme of things this summer, officially adding three new members on July 1 and staying busy in the realignment world thereafter; Austin Peay is set to become the newest ASun program in 2022.

From a softball perspective, the coaching carousel in the ASun focused more on volume than headline-making name-dropping. Two schools changed hands at the head coaching position – Stetson and new member Central Arkansas – while that pair and an additional five programs saw changes within their assistant coaching staffs.

Stetson promoted Shellie Robinson to the head coaching position after a summer-long search, and the only indictable aspect of the whole process was ‘what took them so long?’ A DeLand native, Robinson was the biggest home run that the Hatters could hit to fill their head coaching role. Yes, she’s young and has never been a head coach before, but she’s got a great softball mind and, coaching in her hometown, is the easiest bet for a long-term answer for the program. Stetson has quality facilities and there’s no reason that Robinson and the Hatters shouldn’t be a bigger challenger in the conference.

Even though Central Arkansas joined the ASun halfway through the summer, the program’s transactions and happenings count toward their new league’s offseason tally. That includes the Bears’ promotion of Jenny Parsons to their head coaching position. Parsons spent the better part of a decade as the top assistant at UCA and was an obvious and easy choice to take over the program when David Kuhn departed. Parsons works with the team’s pitching staff and was the head coach at Nicholls State before initially joining UCA, so she also checks the head coaching experience box. Considering the Bears are poised to be a contender right away in the ASun, and given their current depth in the pitching circle as a major strength, had the program even considered anyone other than Parsons for the job, it would have been a misstep.

If you’re keeping score at home, that’s 2-0 for ASun teams in the head coaching hires category. Now, abotu those assistants…

Bellarmine, UCA, Florida Gulf Coast, Kennesaw State, Liberty, North Florida, and Stetson all saw changes in their assistant coaching staffs this summer. FGCU and Stetson had complete overhauls of their assistant coaching staffs, while Liberty and North Florida saw change in their volunteer assistant positions.

It’s not easy to pull off a solid slate of hires in the assistant ranks, but impressively, the ASun made quality hires virtually across the board. Veteran assistants, a former head coach, multiple professional players, and even recently-graduated standouts were part of the new crop of assistants joining the league.

The A+ hire of the summer in the assistant ranks was also the quickest one – Central Arkansas’ promotion of Kayla Lucas from volunteer assistant to a full-time role. An Arkansas native and former head coach at D2 Young Harris – where she had considerable success – Lucas knows her softball and is a home run of a hire for Parsons’ inaugural full-time staff.

Former Radford assistant Megan Hill joined the Kennesaw State staff, while former Mercer pitching coach Mollie Hanson found a new home at FGCU. Bellarmine and Stetson – two programs still building and looking to jockey for position in the conference race – checked the boxes that were important to them in their new hires; Bellarmine gained strong regional ties and recent playing experience in EKU graduate Mollie Paulick, while Stetson went the alumni route in adding recently-graduated outfielder Elizabeth Jackson as an assistant coach.

Former Athletes Unlimited players Sami Fagan (AU season 1) and Gina Snyder (AU season 2) have new coaching roles this season. Fagan, who enjoyed an All-American playing career at Missouri and played professionally for several seasons prior to Athletes Unlimited, joined the staff at Liberty as volunteer assistant. Fagan joined older sister Kasey, who is a full-time assistant for the Flames. Snyder spent the 2021 season on staff at Jacksonville, but moved across town to become North Florida’s volunteer assistant this summer. Snyder played at Purdue and Arizona during her own collegiate days and participated in Athletes Unlimited this summer.

There aren’t any irredeemable coaching hires in the ASun this year. Some may make more sense than others, but from where I’m sitting, this looks like a league that is primed and ready to realize it’s strength on the softball diamond on a regular basis.

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When Georgia Southern made a coaching change this summer, the Eagles brought in a head coach that was familiar in the state of Georgia in Sharon Perkins. When it came time to hire a staff, Perkins brought in a familiar name to the program specifically when she hired Mary Beth Dennison as an assistant coach.

Dennison was on staff at Michigan, serving as the volunteer assistant coach for the legendary Carol Hutchins. She’s no stranger to coaching in the state of Georgia, with stints at Georgia College and East Georgia State on her resume.

Following her return to Statesboro, Dennison talked about her coaching career; navigating the last several months as a volunteer coach; and returning to her alma mater in a new role.

JWOS: When did you know that you wanted to pursue coaching as your career path?
Mary Beth Dennison: Early in my college career, I injured my back significantly enough to decide that it would be in my best interest to stop playing competitively. I transferred to Georgia Southern leading into my junior year. Not long after getting to Statesboro I realized that I could not stay away from the game. I coached 10u softball for Bulloch County Parks and Rec and began giving pitching lessons, which led to coaching travel, high school and eventually at a local JuCo.

JWOS: Tell me about coaching at Michigan and the biggest lessons you were able to glean from that historic staff.
Dennison: Coaching at Michigan was an opportunity of a lifetime. I could not have picked a better place to be the last three years. I can honestly say that I felt valued every single day that I was a part of the staff at Michigan. During my interview with Hutch, she stated pretty clearly that she expected me to be very involved and that she was not hiring me to be a ‘yes’ person. She truly meant that. She values differing opinions and I think that type of leadership has played a huge part in the success the staff has garnered. I was able to see firsthand how empowering the people around you elevates a program.
I think the relationship piece of coaching was something that I was able to learn a lot about while on staff. I gained insight into what creating strong relationships with players looks like and how fostering those relationships as players become alumni impacts a program. Michigan’s alumni are the team’s biggest fans and their continued support for each other and the program is pretty awesome to see from an outsider’s perspective.
I could give you examples of so many lessons all of which are impactful to my growth as a coach. Softball specific, prior to Michigan, I coached high school, juco and DII all of which have limited scouting and video so I was able to learn how to prepare for an opponent in depthly. I also learned a tremendous amount about how softball on a large scale (and by large, I mean huge P5) operates. I am so thankful that the staff was willing to teach me so much and accept me as part of their Michigan softball family.

JWOS: How tough was life as a volunteer assistant coach over the past year and a half? How were you able to navigate those waters and stay in the game?
Dennison: I can’t say the past year and a half was a breeze, but it was challenging in ways that only made my husband and I stronger. Honestly, I contemplated changing careers or just giving lessons. Thankfully my husband loves that I coach college softball and was quick to tell me that we didn’t move to Michigan for me to change careers. We are also extremely blessed that his job wasn’t drastically impacted by covid. Much like other volunteers, I had to get creative with making an income. I grocery shopped for Amazon and Shipt, gave a few lessons to younger girls, and found a couple of facilities that allowed me to host several clinics. Along the way we also had a happy and healthy baby!

JWOS: I know you’re only a couple of months into the role and a couple of weeks into actively coaching at most, but tell me about taking the position at your alma mater and what it’s been like to return to Statesboro in a new role.
Dennison: I came to Georgia Southern my junior year of college and stayed in the area for close to 7 years. I consider Statesboro home. During and after undergrad I worked for a period of time in the athletic department in various roles. I am thrilled to be back working in the department on the coaching side of things.

JWOS: Obviously, as a coach, you want to compete well and to win, but there’s got to be an added “oomph” in doing so at your alma mater, right?
Dennison: There absolutely is. I have an immense amount of pride in Georgia Southern and have every intention of helping our staff put the best product on the field.

JWOS: Describe your coaching style. What do you see as your biggest strengths as a coach?
Dennison: I take a holistic approach to coaching. I view the young women I coach as a whole and not just an athlete. I taught middle and high school, where I learned pretty quickly that students learn and communicate differently. I definitely think teaching, even if for two years, was one of the best decisions I could have made for my coaching career. I fully understand that I can’t get the best out of a young woman on the field if I don’t take the time to get to know her as a person, her learning style and how she communicates. I also think my honesty and ability to communicate well with the age group that I work with is a strength of mine.

JWOS: If we’re doing this interview one year from now, what do you want to see happen in your first year at Georgia Southern that would let you sit back and say ‘this has been a successful year’?
Dennison: That’s a tough question, because we haven’t had a minute to forecast a week from now. We have seen growth from our team in so many ways in a matter of a few weeks. The enthusiasm and openness from our players has been amazing. Reflecting upon our first full year, I’d like to see that we were able to build on to the talents and strengths that these young women have and create a winning culture.

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Portions of the state saw significant damage, with buildings and areas completely leveled, as well as flooding and widespread power outages. In the northern part of the state, the city of Monroe was largely spared from the expected effects of the storm.

After Ida passed through, Louisiana-Monroe catcher Kelsey Giddens was on the phone with a friend when something he said caught her attention.. That friend, Andrew – himself a native of south Louisiana – was preparing to take a trailer of supplies down to a hard-hit area of the state from his current home in Tennessee.

“When he told me that he was going to do that, I knew right then that I wanted to help,” Giddens said. Before that phone conversation even ended, she jumped into action and began reaching out to her teammates.

The response from Giddens’ fellow Warhawks was immediate and unanimous: They wanted to help, too.

Project coordination is firmly within Giddens’ skill set – “I consider myself kind-of a behind-the-scenes leader; I like to do the things that just need to be done” she termed it – so she was the perfect person to helm the project. Members of the team who were already out shopping picked up some extra supplies to give; others made special trips to be able to contribute. The “VLP”, the team lounge, became the drop-off location and de facto storage facility until the supplies could be picked up for the trip down south.

When Giddens arrived at the VLP for the first time after her teammates’ donations, she found herself quickly in tears. “I’m not a super-emotional person, but when it comes to things that are personal to me, I tend to get quite emotional,” she expressed. “I had tears in my eyes [when I saw it all]. I was like ‘this is above and beyond what I could have done’ and it was absolutely amazing.”

One day later, Andrew arrived with his trailer to load up the supplies. Giddens sent out another group text ahead of his arrival; knowing her teammates had staggered class schedules, she wasn’t sure who might be able to help load the supplies, but she decided to ask. Yet again, the team responded en masse as almost a dozen Warhawk players and staff members showed up to help fill the trailer.

“The ladies of the ULM Softball team are absolutely INCREDIBLE!” Andrew wrote in a Facebook post later that day. “Student athletes are some of the most restless and busy non-stop people around… they spent their individual personal money on these items. They also spent the very little spare time they had in the last 24 hours to give back to their state.”

Giddens, for her part, said she was not at all surprised by her team’s response to her sudden and quick request. “You hear people from different schools that say once you get to college, your teammates will be like family. But then I also don’t think a lot of colleges have what we have [at ULM]. The amount of support that we show one another… if I’m having a bad day, there’s not a doubt in my mind that anyone on this team would go above and beyond for me. Our team chemistry isn’t just on the field,” the third-year catcher said. “And I think that is part of things like this too; it’s the little things that go a long way in today’s world and anytime we’re given that opportunity to bring a little bit of joy to other people, it’s huge and goes a long way and I think this team really knows how big a difference the little things can make.”

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A number of coaches fit into one category or the other, but a complete staff that fits both descriptions is a rare and celebrated thing. While broadcasting for Athletes Unlimited this summer, Danielle Lawrie made a comment about how highly-anticipated the new coaching staff is at Arizona. She’s right, and a big reason why is because the entire staff stands impressively at that bridge between playing and coaching success.

Look at Caitlin Lowe, for example. Taking over the reins of the program that Mike Candrea led for decades is no simple task, yet Lowe is widely regarded as the perfect person to do so. She studied under Candrea as a player, filling her trophy case during college before going onto to equally-decorated tenures with Team USA and professionally. As a coach at her alma mater, Lowe has had a firm hand in tutoring some incredible offensive players and the Wildcat outfield has seen All-Americans and stars on something of a revolving door.

Then there’s Taryne Mowatt-McKinney, another Wildcat great who returned to her alma mater as a coach. Who could forget Mowatt’s 1000-pitch performance in the 2007 Women’s College World Series that earned her tournament MVP honors and a pair of ESPY awards? Nearly a decade and a half later, Mowatt still holds some PAC-12 single-season records and impressively translated that success as a player into success as a coach.

At every stop along her coaching path – her return to Arizona in 2017 marked her third pitching coach position – Mowatt has seen success. At Cal Baptist, she mentored a conference Pitcher of the Year and saw her staff earn all-conference awards. At Ole Miss, she helped guide the Rebels to the NCAA tournament for the first time ever and led the pitching staff to lower their team ERA by more than a full run in consecutive seasons. Since she returned to Arizona, the Wildcat pitchers have performed well above expectations on multiple occasions.

Rounding out the Wildcats’ full-time staff is Lauren Lappin. A former Olympic teammate of Lowe’s, Lappin’s coaching path is not as eye-popping as that of her coaching staff counterparts, but has more than her share of highlights nevertheless. A former All-American and Olympic medalist as a player, Lappin began her coaching career by helping build the Roosevelt University program from the ground up before moving onto to Missouri-St. Louis. UMSL made a trio of postseason trips during Lappin’s tenure, and she also coached the Chicago Bandits to the 2019 National Pro Fastpitch regular-season title, helming the league’s Coaching Staff of the Year that same season.

What Arizona will bring to the table in 2022 remains to be seen; following the graduation of a large senior class, the Cats’ on-field product is sure to garner much interest. But with a veteran, star-studded coaching staff, even if a learning curve has to happen within the UA roster, success is sure to be just around the bend.

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Following the official announcement of their respective programs joining the Big 12, JWOS spoke exclusively with the head coach of each program to get their thoughts on the move and what it means for their programs.

BYU head coach Gordon Eakin

“Joining the Big 12 is a great honor. The Big 12 is an incredible athletic conference in every sport. Softball in the Big 12 is always at the highest level and with the addition of UCF, Houston and BYU the competition level will continue to excel. Joining the Big 12 has already improved and lifted our recruiting. At BYU we have everything a prospect could want in the college experience, and now we belong to an incredible conference. Let’s go!”

Houston head coach Kristin Vesely

“The American Athletic Conference is known as a top softball conference. Going into the Big 12, it gives us Power 5 expectations.

We expect our program to go into the Big 12 and be competitive and compete for conference championships. That is unwavering from our staff and our Athletics Department.

When you talk about the Big 12, you are talking about top-quality softball. You are talking about opening the door to top-notch recruits, and you are talking about student-athlete welfare, playing schools within drivable distances. You are talking about bringing in revenue, which will enhance the student-athlete experience while they are at the University of Houston. You are talking about continuing to build the resources for the program to be successful.

This is nostalgic for me. I played in the Big 12 and competed for my entire college career. Being able to go back to the Big 12, knowing what it takes to win, is exciting.”

UCF head coach Cindy Ball-Malone

“First, I must acknowledge the role that the American Conference has played in our development as a softball program and as an athletic department. The competitive nature of the American conference is why we believe we will be able to compete for Big XII championships right away. We have been competing against ranked conference opponents and multiple regional teams within the American Conference every year that I’ve been at UCF. 

We are excited for our journey into the Big XII and believe our new conference membership is the gateway to what’s possible for future student athletes who want to compete for National Championships. UCF, the city of Orlando, and the state of Florida provide student athletes everything they could dream of when it comes to a complete college experience.  Our membership in the Big XII builds on the opportunities our student athletes already have when it comes to exposure, recognition, and a successful career after college softball.  

We have benefited from the hard work and vision of a university and administrators who weren’t afraid to dream big. Our program has been ready to match their boldness by making our brand known across the country. We are here. We are ready. We are Knight Nation.”

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