Hoffer's High School Sports
Hoffer's High School Sports
Brian Ross
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Westbrook softball coach Brian Ross talks about his playing career, which took him from Portland High to Old Dominion to a cup of coffee with the Cincinnati Reds organization, as well as the resurgence of the 2026 Blue Blazes and his coaching philosophy.
Seaport Credit Union is proud to sponsor Hoffer's High School Sports, demonstrating our commitment to supporting Maine's young athletes both in the classroom and on the field. We invite you to celebrate their dedication and achievements by tuning into Hoffers High School Sports Podcast and visiting its website for the most comprehensive coverage of local high school sports. For all of our podcasts, as well as a lot of articles, features, polls, and more, feel free to visit our website at HoffersHighschoolSports.com. Welcome in. Tim, we got another live one in the studio with us, huh?
SPEAKER_01Nice Portland boy right here.
SPEAKER_02You uh I know you I know you like when you can get to people here and we get to do this in person.
SPEAKER_01I do, I do. It's way better. It's way better mostly because I'm here.
SPEAKER_02So our our guests this week, you know, we've talked a lot this school year, Tim, about Westbrook and the resurgence of Westbrook, the great football story. Uh, you know, both basketball teams had very good seasons, and you know, the story of the of the spring so far over at Westbrook is the softball program. Yeah. And uh until recently they had an eight-game win streak, very competitive, one of the top teams in Class A South. That streak unfortunately was snapped yesterday, but it's been mostly good. And uh Coach Brian Ross is a big reason why, and he's here in studio with us today. And welcome, Coach. It's great to have you here in person.
SPEAKER_00Hey, Mike, Tim, uh, thank you for having me. Appreciate it. This is fun.
SPEAKER_02Hell yeah. Uh, you know, just your thoughts on the season so far as a whole. I know you were very optimistic coming in, and it seems like the team's living up to billing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, coming into the year, I know you know we've been trying to build the last two years. Uh this is my third year uh coming off the co-op with South Portland a couple years ago. So I knew it wasn't gonna be easy up front, but uh, you know, we we've had steady gains the last two years, and and you know, with our our seniors this year, um Avery Child, Charlotte Kranz, and Emma Ballette, um they've kind of been a part of that whole process and transition the whole time. So I knew um having them as captains and leaders this year and and bringing in um some younger, talented, experienced players that we we'd be able to compete um you know, more so than in in prior years that we had. So I'm I'm very pleased so far where we've we've come and what we have ahead of us for sure.
SPEAKER_02Y your daughter Madison's a sophomore, one of your pitchers. And you know, I'm so I'm sure you were familiar with this group of kids as they were coming up, right? So you know, was this kind of something you had on the horizon that you know by the time my daughter's in high school, this group could actually be pretty good.
SPEAKER_00Well, yeah, so prior to to me having this opportunity, I started with them in Little League. So I I think I took over uh COVID year in 2020. Um uh my daughter was nine at the time. Um you know, so we we had a good group of kids there who were starting to to fall in love with the game and and want to, you know, have opportunities to play year-round and things like that. So um you know, we built numbers there at the youth level and and you know, my emphasis there was to to have fun and and you know at the younger levels it can be kind of boring when people are you know learning how to pitch and things like that. So keeping them involved and showing them how fun the game is and the fundamentals and and you know growing that game so we can keep them to this point and and not you know lose them to other sports and other things like that. So I I thought you know we were able to do that. Um so where we are now, she's a sophomore. We have a group of you know nine, ten sophomores um numbers-wise, so it it it bodes well for the next couple of years. And I know at the youth levels they have some great volunteers down there that are are doing the same and trying to build the program up and and really show that you know this this can be a softball town, not you know, not just a football town, basketball town, all that. Um so it's it's fun to see so far and and having a little bit of success so far, it it really you know can open their eyes to that and show them what kind of game th this can be when it's when it's competitive and and and you know the inspiration to to get better every year.
SPEAKER_02It's great. Is there an obvious change in the city? I mean, do you feel like there's a more optimism and you know football had to have obviously been a huge thing, but did has that trickled down and spread to other sports?
SPEAKER_00Uh yeah, I I I I think it's um getting the right people involved that have the same passion as the families do. I I know, you know, especially down at the lower levels in Little League and all that, you go to the complex on a like on a Friday night and the place is buzzing, all three fields are going, there's lights. We host all the all-star games there, so um keeping that passion down there and then building it up through middle school and up to the high school. I think that's what we've been building at. Um you know, our prior AD Beth Murphy, she she gave me the opportunity, she was great. Um, she's been there for a long time, uh, was a a a wonderful asset to to Westbrook and and all the families there. Um and now with Mark Campbell coming in, um he he has a lot of great um ideas for the for the you know campus. We're getting our two new scoreboards coming in, the football teams getting a new scoreboard. Uh we have some opportunities to to improve the facilities and and all that goes into like breeding you know enthusiasm for the for the town and and trying to you know translate that into wins on the field and on the court and all that stuff. So um I think we're definitely heading in the right direction right now.
SPEAKER_01You get uh you got a counterpart in uh in Andy Coulomb. Yeah, that's right across the way from you. And yeah, I mean when when I found out I met you this winter when you were coming in to kind of look at the space so that that we've created over there in Westbrook as an indoor space. And when I found I met you, I was like, alright, this guy gets it. And then I found out Andy got hired, and then I got to meet that athletic director over there, and then I know you know SJ's former student, awesome, awesome kid. I'm like, some somebody's formulating a plan. And it's and it's revolving around it. Seems like the energy is around developing human beings over there, and as a byproduct, you're winning. Yes, and it's guys that are invested in the future of the program that might have a history with the program.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it and again, I I didn't know Andy uh before this fall. Um and actually he I didn't know he works at Unum. I work at UNUM for my nine to five, so he actually sits like a floor above me, and I I saw him on you know, like our teams one day, and we oh, okay, you work here, you work here too. So um, but yeah, it's just the the passion like you gotta have as a coach and and the families you gotta kind of be rowing in the same direction. You can't um you know have one foot out the door or have all these different uh distractions uh to to kind of lose sight of what your focus is. One to be a great student athlete. Like we that's our big focus here with um our kids is to make sure you're taking care of the classroom um and and having a good home life and and you know family first type atmosphere. That will translate onto the field with you know how you're you're doing with your you know like workouts and and teammates, yeah, keeping up with everything holistically and not just focus on wins and losses and the sport that you're playing. You know what I mean? So uh and again Mark Campbell's been great at that. He you know, he right when he came in in the fall, he got all the teams together and kind of laid out his goals for the programs and and put it the priorities, you know, as student athlete one, you know, family one, like and then down a couple was wins and losses, but those are going to be a byproduct of the of the first couple, you know.
SPEAKER_01So that's continuation from Beth. I I know that family very well, and Beth was the same way, got to teach with her for about 10 years and same exact thing. Loved loved the kids that she loved the kids that played for her like they were her daughters. Yes, that was that was what was first, and then because of that, you know, when she was coaching, they trusted her when she was getting after them all. Absolutely, yeah. You can't have one without the other, otherwise you're just a jerk. So it's it's it's paying off, man. It's it's been fun to watch. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um I know like coming in for Mark this year, he comes right in, and the football team has some success. And I just remember the state championship game down at Fitzpatrick, like we're we're you know, getting up in the score there. Um, you know, I think Coney wasn't expected to, you know, like have that type of contest against us. We kind of came out of nowhere, but um you see Mark running up and down the sidelines, chanting, getting getting the crowd going, and just kind of taking it all in, like, wow, this is this is awesome. Like great environment. The enthusiasm and and the support from from the community has been amazing. So and and we feel that too with softball. It's kind of a niche type sport. So, you know, we're we're set off in the corner, you know, but like when you start having some success, people start coming around and and noticing and and so wow, these these athletes are amazing. Like they're it's a great group of kids, they they love playing for each other, and you know, it's it's it's fun to see right now. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Switch gears for a minute. I understand you have quite a playing background yourself, and you know, you've been uh a big part of baseball, and you've had a lot of success back in your day, but you know, where did it start for you?
SPEAKER_00Oh geez, here we go. Uh yeah, so I actually just had a conversation this morning with some friends. It's my 30-year high school reunion. So I was a I was class of 96 over at Portland. Uh but you know, really, it's it started back then. Um, you know, Mike Rutherford, legendary coach, he's been coached for 30 years. He I was a part of his first varsity team at Portland back in '95, 1995. So we had a great year that year. We we you know ran into a buzzsaw and Matt Kinney in the uh state championship major leaguer throwing uh you know 93. We had never seen that before. So um so my junior year, that was that was the year that kind of oh, um this is a pretty fun. Baseball's fun. I I never had any aspirations of playing back then, but I I you know grew a little bit, started throwing harder. I was a left-handed pitcher, so um I had a little more leeway with you know getting noticed and things like that. Um and then that summer I was on the Andrews Post team. That was the first team from Maine to make it to the World Series uh in '95. Okay. Which Mike was the coach there. We had Pat Donahue uh with us as well in Scarborough. Um yeah, we went to Middletown, Connecticut, kind of shocked everyone there, and then went out to um Fargo, North Dakota, and competed in the World Series, took a game from Minnesota up front, and then lost the next two, like Tennessee and another team. But great experience. Um it was great, yeah. It was fun. And that kind of got me noticed uh as a player. Uh my pitching coach from where I eventually went to school at Old Dominion down in Virginia, he was at one of those tournaments, so he he noticed me there and and kind of took off with the recruiting. Um took some visits up at Maine at the tail end of uh when Winkin was Coach Winkin was there. Um you know, could have gone either way there was staying home and playing locally, but I I did decide to go down south in Virginia and play in some warm weather and then a nice uh you know D1 program done in the Colonial Athletic Association down in Lake Union. Yeah, yeah. Um I predated Justin Verlander by like four years, I believe. I think he was a freshman my senior year. Like it was so he broke all your records, in other words. Okay. He was probably like an eighth grader, you know, ninth grader. But uh yeah, but he he came in there after that and kind of put that school on the map a little bit. But it was a fun, fun little time down in Virginia. Um senior year, I I got uh drafted by the Reds in the 15th round. Um fun little opportunity there. Immediately went out to like rookie ball in Billings, Montana, played out there for a summer. Um that's when it kind of all started spiraling. I had some shoulder injuries, rotator cuffs, you know, it kind of put me on the shelf, you know, had to do some extended spring training time and work that out. But I I never really got back to how I was like at the end and had some surgeries and you know it was it was over before it even started really for me, which was unfortunate, but it it it was a cool opportunity for me just to kind of see that I could compete at that level. And um once the playing days were over, it was more okay, what do I do now? And you know, like I got my job at Unum. I've been there for 24 years, so that was my first gig after Pro Ball. And then um just coaching wise, I I really I didn't have like these lifelong aspirations to be a coach. It was kind of I had a gap of time in my 20s where I was just you know kind of trying to find myself and what I want to do and all that. And then um I you know I I knew my wife back in school, she's another Portland High grad, Lindsay uh Ross, but she was a meter back then. So um, you know, we we reconnected after and and got married. Had you know I had my three children. Um Madison's my oldest, she's you know 15 now. So really my coaching career started when she was working her way up through Little League, and I was just like, oh, this is kind of cool. Like I was you know a novice to the softball world and like what it was all about coming from the baseball side. So I'm like, oh, how hard could it be? But yeah, it's you mean it's different. Oh gee, oh yeah, it's it's an important aspect, the the technicalities, and you know, everything's smaller. I I go on a baseball field today and I look at the outfield and I'm like, holy cow, like how do we ever play on this field? And I I hold a baseball and it's just so small in my hand. It it just everything's different, but I I love it. It's just been you know kind of what I do now. You know, like I I have my nine to five, but that's you know, that's not really my passion. But now it's like helping these young athletes and these young females empower themselves to to grow up and be you know powerful women and and you know lead businesses and all this stuff. So um the softball part of that is fun, but it's this other aspect of it too, which I'm proud of.
SPEAKER_01How much has just in the time that your daughter has grown up, how much has softball on a national scale changed? It's it's crazy, it's amazing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. Well, I know you bring up uh Addison DeRoche a lot, you know. So she's from Westbrook, but I I remember her went back when she was like seven, eight years old, you know. Back then she was just an ordinary kid, but you know, what she put in to get to where she is now is just amazing. It's like I tell everybody, she's just the hardest working kid I've ever known in my life. Like I would go down to the Little League field, you know, post-little league, just with my daughter, just to go, you know, hit some balls, and her and her dad would be down at the little league field by themselves on a bucket pitching at like three o'clock in the afternoon. I'm like, okay, this this is this kid, this is what she does to get where she is, you know.
SPEAKER_01Do you ever threaten Joe to a fight?
SPEAKER_00Because she wouldn't be able to find it. He's bigger than me.
SPEAKER_02She does it one more year, you know. You could always broker a deal there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I love Joe.
SPEAKER_00Um yeah, and because yeah, I actually got a chance to coach with Joe back pre-COVID when Addison was like 10. That was really when she started to take off. We had they had a nice little run in the litter league and she was, you know, striking out 15 to 20 then as well. Nothing's changed. Yeah, absolutely. Um, but just you know, like you mentioned, that the game itself just I remember, you know, hearing about oh, this game's on ESPN now. Like, but whereas years past it never was, but now it's like a common thing where I was at a uh travel tournament for my younger daughter this past weekend and we were all in the lobby watching uh I think it was the Texas game on ESPN as a team, just as like a team bonding. But I don't think that would happen like six or seven years ago.
SPEAKER_01You know, it's it's it's it's so it's so fun to watch, it's so fast, and the you know the energy's there, it's just a totally different experience. But yeah, but now that they've started covering it, you you feel like it it's opened up um opened up these avenues for kids like Addison.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, she she's a role model for everybody in the state of Maine, you know. She's when you know, I can't believe she has another year left, but you know, in two years when she's on ESPN, like we're you're gonna look at her and be like, oh my, this is this is amazing. She's from I know her, you know. Um it's just it's really cool for the sport, and again, that's that's gonna trickle down to like the little league and the youth levels where we're you know my big thing down in the little league was you know when they're nine and ten, you gotta find ways to keep it fun for them. So I would you know promote playing music in between things, doing like the cotton eye joe dance, you know, and you'd get the other team to join in and they'd have like it's so much fun. And then they'd have fun, it would translate onto the field, and they'd want to get out there and they'd just grow that love for it, you know. And it's I I can't speak for the the the baseball side of it nowadays. I've been so disconnected from that. I do have a son, so eventually I I find myself getting back into baseball eventually, but just the the softball side is so much enthusiasm and passion, it's it's just awesome. I love it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I know Tim and I have this conversation a lot. He's very passionate about baseball for obvious reasons. And what is it that you loved about the sport? What made it unique in your mind?
SPEAKER_00Well, it started just playing, like pre-internet, pre-social media. Like you I had nothing else to do as a kid. So I was out there eight hours a day. I grew up in Munjoy Hill, so I'd go over at old the old Adams schoolyard and play stickball and play basketball, you know, sun, sun up to sundown. So um it it just the game itself. And then as you get older and you you start having a little bit of success, so you're like, okay, this is fun. Like, but you're not really thinking I'm gonna be a big leaguer, you know. Maybe kids nowadays do because of social media and just like everything else, but back then it was just I like playing the game, it's fun. Exactly. And then the better you get, I'm like, okay, and then people start talking and and and then eventually it led to you know having success and going to college for it and all that. Like, but yeah, it it is what it is. The game is is fun in itself. That's the best part about it.
SPEAKER_02In your limited time uh professionally, did you play with or against anyone that wanna went on to make a name for themselves?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, so my years, I you know, I got gra drafted in 2000. So for the Reds, those spring trainings were awesome. It was you know, Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Larkin, Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, um a young Edwin Incarnazion. I think he was 16 at the time, just getting signed. Um, Scott Williamson, William O'Pena, those those types. Um a lot of those guys were already established at that point. So I'm like this, you know, again, I was 22. I wasn't like an 18-year-old, so I was a senior sign out of college, but just to kind of you know rub shoulders with them in the locker room and you know, do drills, it was just it was like, whoa, okay, all right, you really gotta up your game there. Um, but yeah, that that experience was fun. It was short-lived. I wish it could have lasted longer, but you know, that was like the time of my life, you know, you that famous Seinfeld, you know, you know, I wish you could see the times of your life when you're in them and not after it's gone. So like you take it for granted. I'm thinking, you know, I'm in the minors, I'm gonna be in the big leagues for 10 years, but stopped really quick after that.
SPEAKER_01Um so go going backwards, just a shade. Yeah, yeah. Um you said you stayed connected with your with your buddies from high school, college. Yeah, I'm assuming. Did you recruit anybody from from Portland, from your old Portland teams to try to coach with you when you when you started coming up through? Was anybody over there?
SPEAKER_00Well, no, because I'm kind of stuck to just like the Westbrook families. Yeah. I know like we were talking off air, uh, your you know mate over at the Pickler, uh, Mike McCollum. He was my center fielder back in the day. Yeah, you know, having you know, Jason Jensen, all those teams back at USM, and there were the national.
SPEAKER_01Those are the guys I was thinking of the same.
SPEAKER_00But they they they grew up in Portland. They you know, Mike obviously had two daughters in the in the little league, so we'd always be playing against them. I I feel like a lot of my friends were in other towns. They none of them kind of landed in Westbrook like I did. Um, so it was fun competing against them. That's what I'm saying. But if if you know if they were around, I certainly would have tried to scoop them up.
SPEAKER_01It's one of the coolest, coolest things about the greater Portland area is you just keep seeing the same names over and over again. You're constantly reconnecting, and I think part of that is the reason why it stays alive. Yeah. Oh, yeah, because guys like you get involved and McCollum gets involved and their kids get involved, and yeah, hopefully they come back and they they they keep it involved. But as as in my opinion, softball has kind of boosted itself up in the in the college scene just because they started televising this thing. And I feel like there's more kids that are that are watching it, watching softball, more girls that are watching softball, than there are boys that are watching baseball. Because the game is so exciting. I even find myself I go over to my brother's house and I watch softball because it's just like it's non-stop, you know, and I've got two nieces that played and you get into it and you coach it, and you're like, oh my god. Ask yourself five years ago if that would have been the case.
SPEAKER_00And you're like, oh what? No, no, no, no, no, but yeah, it's it's it would have done it. It's yeah, they're just the the speed of the game, the you know, the athleticism, the plays they're making, it's just you know, it's it's a massive.
SPEAKER_01Then you hear guys like Mike McCullum who's not coaching over at Portland, but you hear him on the sidelines getting into the game and it's kind of like that's that's the hard, yeah. Being on the field is a lot easier than being on the sidelines for sure. It's really cool though. I like the way it cycles, but yeah.
SPEAKER_02Well, having daughters probably changes the whole equation too, with all of that, I would imagine, right?
SPEAKER_00Yes, yes. Yep. Different dynamic uh for sure. Um you have to deal with you know personalities and and you know what they're feeling on one day versus another, teammates, interactions, you know, things like that. That's another thing I I you know, I don't profess to be the greatest coach around, no Bill Belichick of like softball or anything, but um what I can relay to the players is you know having great body language, uh being a great teammate, leadership, all all that thing, and and being competitive, which you know, I I'm I I'm an introvert at nature, but I'm super competitive and I might not show it, but like it it it just kinda drives me to to want to be better at everything. And I try to relay that to the girls at all times when they're having a bad day and okay, well we need to do this to to get this result, so let's focus on this thing. And they they don't always believe it, but we if as long as you keep preaching it, I think they they get it when the results show. And again, for this season, I think a lot of the things we've been building the last two years are starting to reap benefits now on the field with wins and losses, and they're like, oh, okay, what I was doing last winter over at the Pickler or last year, what we worked in the cages, like uh the result is right there, you know.
SPEAKER_02Kind of a fascinating season. You've got one team that looks like they're head and shoulders above everybody, and then after that you've got a group of like six teams that are all pretty even and are all beating each other, and it's gonna be it's gonna be fascinating to see first of all how the heel points line up. Sure. And then you know how some of these playoff matchups, even some of the quarterfinals, I think, are gonna be really compelling games.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so uh clearly Chevrous is you know the top top dog here with Addison throwing. Um despite their coach.
SPEAKER_02Yes, they're they're overcoming. John's great.
SPEAKER_00I love John. Um but yeah, it's it it's pretty much everybody else trying to get a chance to play against her in the playoffs and and possibly pull an upset like the window did last year, you know. Um it takes pitching, it takes not almost playing a perfect game against them because you need to execute and and not give them opportunities where an experienced team like that and with her you know doing her thing, it it's really hard to beat them unless you you have your best day. So um, but just to get a chance to do that is is what everybody's goal is at this point, I think. And and um all these other games have been fun. You know, I again we we we had a great uh matchup against Chambers. It was early as our second game of the year, it was our first home game. You know, the weather was okay, but it was you know kind of a good test early. But like I almost wish we could have played them a little later just to kind of get our feet wet first. But um, you know, if there's an opportunity that we can play them again, that'd be great. But uh we're just you know gonna take it one game at a time, and anybody can eat beat anybody on any given day, the way this the season's shaping up, so it's it's you know kind of fun and exciting, keeps it, you know, keeps them in the game.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Every game's exciting. Yeah, every single one is that evenly based, right? Yep. Like you said, uh errors happen. And then an error can turn into a run very quickly, and that could be the decider, but you know, that's it's it's cool. It's cool to watch the uh kind of the middle of the pack rise to the challenge of when when there's a really good team in the league, everybody's kind of shooting for that goal, right? So it raises everybody else's you know level of expectation, the coaches' level of expectation, and the kids are taking practice a little bit more seriously. You know, you want to you want to be to that level and get to that. Do you see the girls responding to that? Absolutely, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it again it's there's a lot of great coaches in this in south main south right now. So um, you know, just the preparation it takes to be able to compete with you know the uh the Chevrolets and and her going to D1 and all that, it you just it's it's how you practice, it's the details, it's the the finer things like executing a bunt or backing up a play or or executing this pitch in this count and things like that. The little things that the kids may not realize 100%, but the coaches are providing for them because of their experience. And and I feel like the you know, the top six, seven, eight teams, you know, can can really compete at a high level when they're executing on any given day. So um it it again, it makes it fun and it's just you know, every day is is an excitement to go to the field and kind of work on what you need to do to get over the top.
SPEAKER_02Winham doesn't have the star quote unquote pitcher that they've had the last several years, but they're still the defending champs. You found out yesterday how dangerous they can be. They still have a really good lineup, uh, you know, they're solid in the field. So I'm sure you you consider them as a serious threat as well, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, they're not only the defending champs, they're they've won two out of the last three state championships. And almost all three, yeah. Yeah, and so all those seniors have won two state championships already. They're all travel players who play year-round and they're playing at the next level. So yeah, going into yesterday, I knew you know it was going to be a a challenge not only just on the field, but emotionally for our girls. Like we we've had been tested earlier in the year, but you know, the history between Westbrook and Wyndham goes all the way back to those little league days when Addison was with us and pitching against them in Little League. But you know, now a lot of the you know, the Emma Boulettes and Avery Child, they've been battling Windham forever. So um they know all the players, they know what they can do, what they're capable of, and and with their success, it's like okay, we we we need to be on our game today. And um, you know, just it it was a rough one yesterday, but you know, we'll we'll get back to practice today, and and you know, we got three more games left, and um, you know, we're gonna focus on that, and then hopefully we're playing our best in the playoffs, which which every any any coach would ask for. That's that's the result.
SPEAKER_01That's how you might that's why you want to finish, right? You'll be playing your best games at the end. Absolutely. You get it, you get a kid that's uh getting close to a landmark, right?
SPEAKER_00The uh yeah, uh so Emma Bullet, our senior captain, shortstop. She's going to uh St. Mike's uh in the fall, D2. Um, but she currently is at 93 hits. So I like her chances. I I do too. She's been on a nice little streak here. Um great hitter. You know, so hopefully she's talking on wood right now. It might change that. It might not happen in regular season, it might kind of spill into the playoffs, which would be kind of cool. Um, I joke with her if well, maybe we'll match up against Chevrous that game and she'll get a hit off her buddy Addison to get 100. That would be great drama. Um in her mind, I know she's you know dreaming of that at home, but um you know she's she's a great kid. She's uh you know, probably the the best leader that I've I've coached and been around as a as a player in in all my years. Um just her enthusiasm's amazing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Um you know you mentioned that your other seniors, Avery, Greta, what have they meant to the program?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, Avery Childs. Um again, I I coached her back in the Little League when she was 10 years old. Um, she she had uh some time when she was younger that she wanted to play in college, but kind of chose a different path there, but you know, that never kind of dimmed her her drive to to be a good teammate and play uh the best she could for Westbrook. Um she's a great player, first base, you know, super tall, scoops, it's it's you know, hits in the clutch. Um Charlotte Krantz, our other senior captain. I met her not Greta, sorry. Little sister Greta, yeah. Uh Charlotte, you know, lefty power bat. Um same thing. She she had uh thoughts of playing at the next level, um, but she's a big uh uh proponent of uh music and band. She's you know, so I think she's attending USM in the fall for some music stuff, which you know, Westbrook also has a yeah, it's one of the best. Yeah, yeah. So um just with the the with those three, those are the three leftovers of the co-op with South Portland their freshman year. So like I mentioned, they they've kind of seen where we've been and what we're at, and and they were part of that process to get us to where we are today. So I'm I'm forever grateful for them three for sure.
SPEAKER_02I ask you this on May 27th. What what would be a successful season for you ultimately? Do you have a certain goal in mind how far you want to get in the playoffs, or is it more about more than that?
SPEAKER_00So last year we I think we ended eight and nine. I think it was our first season at 500 or better in like maybe 15 years. I was trying to go back into all the hill points. Um you know, we we've made the playoffs the last two years, so um, but this year I I know we we expectations are a little higher. I'd I'd love to at least you know win a playoff game, make it make a little run, uh, maybe into the semifinals if we can. Um just give our girls a chance to to compete and and see what we can do when we have everything working and the buy-ins there and the communities with us. It's just you know, I'll I'll take whatever we can. But at this point, you know, we've exceeded I think our expectations for this year. Umly losing those three seniors. I can see us coming back even stronger next year with a with another group of uh freshmen coming in and the current you know sophomores and juniors. So um really it's just you know executing and and hopefully we can get a playoff win or two and then maybe match up against uh you know the team that comes out the other side and see what we can go with there.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. No, that's that's great. And you know, and it seems like the program is in good shape going forward. I know that's always a concern too, is you want to have that pipeline, and it's great to have great seniors. We at some point you have they graduate and you have to replace them, and that happens every year.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, um I and again this year we had a junior varsity team. I I think going into it um when I took over, they we hadn't had a JV team in like 10 years just because of numbers. So um we're building and building on that, so that that helps development as well. When girls who normally wouldn't have an opportunity and they're just sitting the bench or maybe choose to do something else because they can't play a JV team, we have that opportunity for them now and they can build their passion and and you know pick it up where where they wouldn't have been able to before.
SPEAKER_02So you ready for the grand finale, Tim? Let's do it. So Brian, we always wrap this up. I I call it name association. You throw out some names, you you uh respond however you like. Sure. You want to kick it off?
SPEAKER_00Or uh Beth Murphy. Good one. Jeez, I where do I start with her? Um, opportunity. So she you know, she provided me the opportunity to to take this team. Um going into it, you know, like the numbers weren't there, we're coming off a co-op. She wasn't sure where softball was headed in Westbrook, but she had trusted me to you know build what we've built so far. Um and she's like a legacy figure in Westbrook sports. So I just you know forever grateful to her and and she was great um while she was here and you know very thankful for her.
SPEAKER_02And she put up with Mike all these years. Which I mean, that's we could do a whole podcast on that alone.
SPEAKER_01That's a gold medal situation that seems like a plaque on her wall.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Uh Mark Campbell. Visionary, visionary. So, you know, again, like from day one that he was hired, he you know, he was out at our football field, like painting doors, and like he just he's very visible and and very uh interactive with the needs of each of the teams and and the programs. And uh it it it's very you know it motivates us to do better because he's putting in the time and he wants success for all these you know kids and programs. So uh I'm very, very much looking forward to the next couple years with with what we got coming down the line with him at the at the leadership role.
SPEAKER_02Uh Mike Rutherford.
SPEAKER_00Mentor, mentor. So yeah, I mentioned earlier, yeah, he was you know my first varsity coach as as you know, a sophomore and junior. Um I was really coming into my own as a baseball player back then. He taught me how to throw my slider, which was pretty much my best pitch as as an adult. Um, but just the the passion he had for the game, you know, at even at a younger age, he must, you know, probably in his early 30s back then, and we're 30 years later, but um he just he he brought out the best in all of us and and he taught us how to play the game the right way. Yeah, Mike McCollum. Unbelievable center fielder. Yeah, he was my center fielder back in high school. Um, you know, he was on those legendary USM teams that you know won this national championship. Um great teammate. I you know, I played basketball with him as well. He's a multi-sport athlete like myself. So he you know he was just one of those, you know, again, legacy Portland guys that, you know, good in the classroom and and just an unbelievable athlete. And you know, he had spilled over into his life in Portland in the little league. I know he's done great things over there, and and you know, the enthusiasm he had for youth sports now is is the same passion that I have. So it's it's fun to see that as someone who I played with now. We're both on the on the family side of it, you know. Right.
SPEAKER_01How about John Eisenhart? You had to throw it in, didn't you?
SPEAKER_00Great coach. Hey, I I I listened to his podcast a couple weeks ago. Um, you know, just his makeup and what he brings to the table for for that team is is definitely what they they needed. Um and I I just you know I haven't known him long, but like from the interactions we've had and and just hearing his story and all that, it's just it's it's great for the local sports scene having someone like him in the area and representing you know his school and and having success. Like, yeah, it's a great guy, so it's you know, couldn't be happier for someone like him to have some success. Yeah. I can delete that part.
SPEAKER_02That's the first time his name hasn't been taken in vain in the studio. No, we can't say all we do is talk crap.
SPEAKER_01We can edit all of that up.
SPEAKER_02No problem. How about Darcy Gardner?
SPEAKER_00Awesome. Yeah, I'll just like again, I s I've known her for a few years. She she kind of delved into the the travel softball world. Um, so I I knew her from there, but just her her tenacity and and focus to detail and and what she gets out of of her kids and what she brings to the table is is also you know much needed in the area, and and those girls are are forever grateful for her being you know in that leadership role with them. And and again, without her, I don't think they'd have the success they they've had the last couple years by any means.
SPEAKER_02She just needs to come out of her shell a little bit.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, oh yeah. Yeah. Addison DeRoach. Work ethic. You know, again, you you can't be someone as talented as her without God given talent, but combining that with work ethic and and she's kind of the poster child for that. Like, you know, again, I I've I've known her since she's like seven or eight years old. She was just another kid back then, but just to see then to now what it takes to to be a D1, you know, athlete is is again God given talent. But just what what are you doing other than that to put you over the top, to separate you from from each. And and you know, again, she's a great kid, very humble, awesome in the classroom. Um you know, not a bad word to ever say about her or her family. It's just like they're amazing and it's it's very inspirational for for a lot of youth athletes now to see someone like her have some success and and be, oh, I she did it. I can do it from Maine. That who cares, you know, let's go. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Eddie Chiazzo.
SPEAKER_00Worker, same thing, you know. So um her dad, Nick, uh, runs the Maine Thunder program, which I've been a part of for the last, you know, seven, eight years or so. Um she's always in the cages, you know, he whenever he's there, she's always there. So um I'm sure initially that was him pulling her into the cage and hey, get some work done. But now she's there, you know, she she's obviously older. Um, she's going to play D2 in New Hampshire, Southern New Hampshire, I believe. Yeah. So um just a phenomenal player. Like you saw some of the plays she was making on us yesterday. Um you just you can't hit it to her, it's an automatic out, and and she's unbelievable at the plate as a lefty hitter, and um, you know, she's gonna have some great success at the college level for sure.
SPEAKER_02Madison Ross.
SPEAKER_00Uh the quiet, the quiet assassin. I'll say that about her. So um much like me, she's kind of an introvert, so like you you could be around her for about a half hour and she won't even say a word to you. Um, you know, our our our head basketball coach, John Young at Westbrook, um, said he she went maybe a whole season without saying a word to him. Um you just know you know what how what her temperament is by the color of her face. She gets you know embarrassed easily, kind of like maybe I am right now. But um but she's quiet, she's very competitive, but she doesn't show it. Um she has the right temperament to be a pitcher. Um she doesn't have the highs and lows. Like if she someone hits a home run offer, you'll never know because you'll just stay the same and go to the next pitch. Um so you know, she's just an awesome kid, great in her schools, you know, she's you know top in her class right now as a sophomore. Um she wants to be a teacher when she grows up. So um Well, you get time to talk around that. Hey, yeah, I've been um but yeah, no, she's just awesome, you know, a great first child. I I have two other kids, so it's it, you know, she's the love of my life, you know, with my family. So it's it's great being able to coach her.
SPEAKER_02Anything else that uh Tim before I throw one more out?
SPEAKER_01No, I I I will uh you gonna you got one more to throw? I do, yeah. All right, no, I got I got no more names. Okay, go ahead. Throw it down.
SPEAKER_00The boss. Yeah. So smart man. Yeah, I know. So I again like I've only been coaching at the high school level for three years, but I was involved in Little League for the last 10 and you know, running the softball program there. That that took that was a lot of time. You know, it's all volunteer-based. So, you know, there were nights where I'd be at the field dragging the field at like nine at night and and lining and painting and doing all this, and she she's just really supportive of of what I'm doing here as a coach. And um, you know, now that our kids are older, it's it's more of a divide and conquer type thing. I my younger daughter Tegan is in seventh grade, she's starting to get the passion for softball and doing travel, so we have to split weekends. And my younger son, Brady, he's getting in the coach pitch now. So, you know, three kids doing three different things, and so she she's really, you know, without her, I I wouldn't be able to do this, so it's it's just a blessing that you know she puts up with me and allows me to to do this for the kids, you know, and that's the big picture. It's you know, it's not just my kid, which that's awesome, but like just what I can provide to all these kids and and help them enjoy the game and be a better player in person is you know part of that. She allows me to do that, which is awesome.
SPEAKER_01Don't leave coach. Don't leave there's there's there's in my opinion, there's there's guys that coach for reasons that maybe they've been successful and then they bail out. Right? You anybody can coach talent. Building a program and sticking with it and seeing it through. Those those coaches to me are so rare, and we lose them because of the the miner the the inertia of just the stuff, right? The the stuff that you have to do outside of it. Don't leave. What you're doing is is changing lives. And I know you've got other kids coming up, you've got other responsibilities. I I get the whole thing. You're doing a great job. I appreciate it. And you're doing it for the right reasons, man. It's it's it's fun to listen to you talk, and we share a very similar pedagogy. And I I'm not tooting my own horn, but you you're doing it. I'm not. Don't leave. It's it's just great to to hear it and to watch it. It's and to see it be successful. It's it's dynamite, man. Yeah. Still relatively young. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, I'm compared to Hoffer everybody.
SPEAKER_02Well, and that's I feel that way all the time these days. But no, thank you, coach. Congratulations on all you've achieved so far. Best of luck the rest of the year. You know, certainly hope you guys can make a deep run and we'll be following along closely. But thank you for taking the time to do this.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I appreciate it. And again, like the the level of coverage uh you provide is is awesome for for the sport, and you know, it's just it just it breeds enthusiasm and people love it, so just keep doing what you guys are doing. I'm I'm not going anywhere either. Thank you so much for having me.