Skip to main content
Athletics

Kirkwood Softball Coaches Named Midwest Staff of Year

By June 5, 2013November 20th, 2018No Comments
Head Coach Joe Yegge gives Shelby Crist some tips for running the bases

Head Coach Joe Yegge gives Shelby Crist some tips for running the bases

Coaches see success after just one year together

For the second time in three years, the Kirkwood Community College softball coaching staff has been named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Midwest coaching staff of the year. Head Coach Joe Yegge and assistant coaches Allie Galvin, Kylee Knop and Carlie Schnoebelen are all part of the group being recognized this season. The award follows a season with the most wins ever in the history of Kirkwood softball.

The Eagles finished the year with a record of 57-5, including a 50-game win-streak, and was a NJCAA Division II national championship semifinalist. The team led the nation in multiple categories including runs scored (524), homeruns (101), walks (218) and opponent batting average (.176). In addition, three players were named First Team All-Americans by the NJCAA. Now, the coaches are being recognized for their hard work.

“It’s a great honor to be selected by my peers in this great organization,” said Yegge. “But most of all it’s pretty cool to get this award considering the staff has only been together for one year.”

In any group working together it can take some time getting to know everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, but Yegge had a pretty good idea what everyone was going to bring to the table. Knop and Schnoebelen are former players under Yegge.

“My staff is awesome,” said Yegge. “Kylee and Carlie played for me and were actually part of my first recruiting class here at Kirkwood. They both know what I expect and have been through everything these girls are going through. When our girls are dragging or having a hard time, they can tell them how to get through it because they’ve been there before. They were All-Americans here at Kirkwood so the girls automatically respect them and know what we are doing will help them be successful. Allie has been a great addition as well. She is from Cedar Rapids so she brings a new excitement to the program from a local standpoint. She played D1 softball so she knows and understands the grind and can help relay what it takes to be successful and move on to the next level. The players really look up to her.”

All of the coaches bring their individual approaches teaching the game, however they all mesh well to achieve the team’s goals. To Yegge, a good balance of different types of personalities works in the staff’s favor.

“The best thing is that we all have such different personalities that we actually balance and complement each other well,” said Yegge. “It’s funny because we always joke that we would be a perfect fit for a reality TV show.”

The Kirkwood softball coaches are now finalists for the 2013 NJCAA National Coaching Staff of the Year award, which will be announced this month.