Today’s post will be fairly meaningless to many of you, but I wanted to share some good news with the rest. My friend and fellow IOMT Castaways coach told us this week that she has been named the new varsity head coach at Vernon Hills High School.

I’ve known Jan for several years, starting from when I coached her daughter Erin, and I can tell you Vernon Hills has found themselves a winner in several ways. First, Jan is very knowledgeable about the game. She played through high school and college, and coached travel ball for several years. the good thing about her is that she doesn’t just rely on the way things used to be, but also keeps up with the current thinking on the game.

More importantly, though, she genuinely cares about the players in her charge. Not just as softball players but as people. She’s a huge believer in team over individual glory, although if an individual has a problem or concern, softball or otherwise, they can bring it to her.

Of course, no discussion of Coach Jan would be complete without talking about how intense she is during games. She can look like she’s pretty angry at times, especially if things aren’t going right. But she’s not angry, actually. She’s just focused. Once players understand that I’m sure they’ll enjoy playing for her – and learning from her.

I’m personally looking forward to seeing what she does with team. So congratulations, Jan! I know you’ll be great.