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Post by coacht on Jul 9, 2024 14:15:13 GMT -5
Kimberly Stiles was announced as the new Head Coach at U of Maine. The assistants are both gone, including the alum with head coaching experience, so the national search will now commence.
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Post by purplehaze on Jul 9, 2024 14:34:13 GMT -5
She must have a very good agent as her three years at HC were really just ‘the same old thing’ with our softball program. Terrible results and not competitive in the PL.
Maybe this is the time to drop this program as I doubt Kit has a plausible plan for improvement
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Post by coacht on Jul 9, 2024 15:02:48 GMT -5
The improvement plan is complete the new field, pay a market wage to the coaching staff, add another 1.4 scholies to put you on par with the next lowest school (lafayette) and fund a reasonable recruiting budget with a new coach that knows how to recruit. Yes, BU is the current 800 pound gorilla and Lehigh is usually good too. No reason to not make the conference tournament most of the time.
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Post by purplehaze on Jul 9, 2024 16:27:05 GMT -5
That’s a nice plan ‘of yours’ but not HC’s.
Along with Volleyball, softball has hardly reached a D.3 level of performance
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Post by longsuffering on Jul 9, 2024 17:33:44 GMT -5
In an age of Title IX, you won't find many colleges offering baseball but not softball. Although Navy has baseball and no softball and American has club baseball and no club softball, so maybe there are loopholes.
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Post by bison137 on Jul 9, 2024 18:09:16 GMT -5
In an age of Title IX, you won't find many colleges offering baseball but not softball. Although Navy has baseball and no softball and American has club baseball and no club softball, so maybe there are loopholes. Since the Naval Academy is only 28% female, there’s no pressure on them to add women’s sports. As for American, I seriously doubt that is an issue because it all depends on the demand for a club sport. |
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Post by bfoley82 on Jul 9, 2024 21:50:36 GMT -5
From the Maine press release was this:
"Stiles has spent the past three seasons at Holy Cross, guiding the Crusaders' program to 50 wins in a three-year span for the first time in 25 years."
That is an average of 16.6 wins a year. Pretty crazy Holy Cross didn't do that in the past 25 years.
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Post by coacht on Jul 10, 2024 11:28:57 GMT -5
It almost certainly wouldn't have been 25 years if we hadn't lost most of the 2020 and 2021 seasons to COVID. Kelly Nelson's impact in 2020 and 2021 (2-9 and 8-20, respectively) was lessened due to COVID. Too bad, as IMO she was a once in a decade (at least) pitcher for HC. Probably the best we've had since Grosch/Heywood in the late '90's. Coach Stiles' "50 wins in a 3 year span" benefited from Kelly's last year in 2022 when they posted a 21-29 record.
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Post by purplehaze on Jul 10, 2024 13:47:50 GMT -5
So the trend was clearly down managing only 29 total W's total in '23 and '24 - many of the league wins thanks to a pathetic Lafayette program which is the team we fight each year to stay our of the PL cellar.
I really hope Kit can grab an up and coming young coach that can get this thing going
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Post by coacht on Jul 10, 2024 17:41:43 GMT -5
Seems to me we had our 'heir apparent' in last year's assistant. Alumna, former head coach, Masters from Georgetown, etc. I talked with her in Colorado last weekend at the Sparkler Showcase and now she's wearing Lafayette colors (she's the new assistant). All she said was they didn't get along.
We might have a tougher time staying out of the cellar next year.
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Post by sader1970 on Jul 10, 2024 18:50:36 GMT -5
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Jul 10, 2024 19:21:18 GMT -5
In 2022-23, HC spent $810,000 on softball, about $150,000 less than Lafayette. The other four PL schools averaged about $1,375,000. Loyola, AU, USMA, and USNA don't compete in this sport.
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Post by coacht on Jul 10, 2024 19:28:57 GMT -5
USMA does. Doesn't change your observation, but just for clarity.
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Post by coacht on Jul 10, 2024 19:39:30 GMT -5
Doing the math -- 19 players on the 2025 roster, less the 6.6 scholarships is 12.4 full-pay equivalents, assuming all scholarships have been awarded. Tuition for the 2024/2025 school year is $63,650 or $789,260 in tuition for the non-scholarship team. About a push with the spend. We don't stack aid, so merit and need based money don't apply. Assuming the other schools are similar, other than West Point, you need to invest some to be competitive.
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Post by princetoncrusader on Jul 10, 2024 20:03:03 GMT -5
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Post by lou on Jul 10, 2024 20:05:36 GMT -5
What's the issue with our softball field? I've only watched on TV but I thought it looks pretty good
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Post by princetoncrusader on Jul 10, 2024 20:16:26 GMT -5
I have not been to a game, but have walked passed the facility on a football saturday. Aluminum bleachers, port o jons and natural grass field that likely is muddy most of the Spring--not a compelling facility for recruits I would think.
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Post by longsuffering on Jul 10, 2024 21:19:44 GMT -5
Seems to me we had our 'heir apparent' in last year's assistant. Alumna, former head coach, Masters from Georgetown, etc. I talked with her in Colorado last weekend at the Sparkler Showcase and now she's wearing Lafayette colors (she's the new assistant). All she said was they didn't get along. We might have a tougher time staying out of the cellar next year. Coach, if it was the former head coach who the former assistant didn't get along with, would it be Kosher for HC to offer her the head coach position and not an issue for Lafayette to lose an assistant coach who gets offered a head coach position? |
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Post by Crucis#1 on Jul 10, 2024 23:40:07 GMT -5
What's the issue with our softball field? I've only watched on TV but I thought it looks pretty good See the plans for a new softball complex at the top of the hill, next to Fr. K field. crossports.freeforums.net/thread/6578/crusader-athletic-fundIn reviewing the pictures shown in the link below, at approximately #40, Former AD Marcus Blossom, is shown discussing the new softball complex. www.flickr.com/photos/38036628@N07/sets/72157719482012856/Based on discussions, I would expect it will be at least another 3 years before ground is broken. Unless there is an unexpected dedicated gift, specific to softball construction. |
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mainejeff
Climbing Mt. St. James
UMaine Sports Forum: https://umainesports.freeforums.net
Posts: 81
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Post by mainejeff on Jul 11, 2024 6:17:15 GMT -5
Maine’s new facility which opened last year was about $10 million. That includes seating for 500 (about 100-150 chairbacks), artificial turf, lights, dugouts, pressbox, new scoreboard and indoor batting/pitching pavilion. |
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Jul 11, 2024 8:53:25 GMT -5
Holy Cross isn't spending $10 million on a softball field.
More than a year ago, KH said the estimate for remaining construction on top of the Hill was $17 million. IIRC. This was after the new field hockey field and track was installed. And i believe this estimate did not include the new turf on Fr. K. field.
The estimate would have included the expanded seating and larger press box for Smith field, new turf for Smith field replacing grass, a plaza area, new softball field, and new competition areas for field events, e.g., javelin, discus, hammer throw.
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Post by coacht on Jul 11, 2024 12:29:37 GMT -5
Seems to me we had our 'heir apparent' in last year's assistant. Alumna, former head coach, Masters from Georgetown, etc. I talked with her in Colorado last weekend at the Sparkler Showcase and now she's wearing Lafayette colors (she's the new assistant). All she said was they didn't get along. We might have a tougher time staying out of the cellar next year. Coach, if it was the former head coach who the former assistant didn't get along with, would it be Kosher for HC to offer her the head coach position and not an issue for Lafayette to lose an assistant coach who gets offered a head coach position? I'm not privy to the details, but unless there's more there than "didn't get along" I would see no reason she couldn't return. Her new boss at Lafayette would likely be unhappy as it would put her back in the market for an assistant, but to move from assistant to head coach at the D1 level is a solid career move that everyone would understand. |
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Post by purplehaze on Aug 9, 2024 13:43:10 GMT -5
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Post by bfoley82 on Aug 9, 2024 19:47:14 GMT -5
He is a good coach and is able to connect with female student athletes. The question is how much support does he get off the field? Holy Cross is by far the toughest job he has had with no history and minimal talent. |
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Post by longsuffering on Aug 10, 2024 0:44:01 GMT -5
I don't know which Providence transplant has the bigger challenge, Bishop Henning or Coach Ladino but I quote the title of the current song stuck in my head for both of them, "Good luck Babe!"
We should see some improvement because I don't think any of our recent skippers had as impressive a winning record as Mr. Ladino, including at Assumption in the competitive NE10, before taking the helm.
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