“She's ready for the job: Temple graduate Zaleski grabs TC softball reins, aims to extend Hennig's success” |
| Posted: 27 Jan 2011 07:46 PM PST The walls are plastered with hardwood. Eight regular-season conference championships, three trips to the NJCAA World Series, countless all-conference players and several All-Americans. To say the least, Temple College's first 12 years of softball were fruitful under Larry Hennig, the only coach the school had ever known. Hennig, who was 519-203 with the Lady Leopards and the most successful coach in the Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference, left during the summer to become head coach at Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton. Former Temple High School standout and pro softball star Kristen Zaleski was hired in August and hopes to build on the successful foundation Hennig placed at TC. She will take her first step toward that when she makes her collegiate coaching debut Friday in Temple's 1 p.m. doubleheader against Howard in Big Spring. "I'm nervous. I'm excited," Zaleski said. "I have the butterflies going. It felt like it was so far away when we started, and even when we returned from the (semester) break. I'm excited to see what it's going to look like when it's real and how we are going to respond to different situations." Not that Zaleski has much to be nervous about. She's been waiting for this moment for some time now, and Hennig had been helping prepare her to take over once he retired. While Hennig was creating one of the most successful junior college programs, Zaleski was securing her spot as one of the most successful players around. After graduating from Temple in 2000, she set 14 records at Texas State from 2001-04 and was named MVP of the National Pro Fastpitch league in 2005. She still holds several NPF records. She was one of the last players cut from the 2008 U.S. Olympic softball team before ending her playing days in 2009 while arguably still at the top of her game. From there she helped Hennig conduct some of his TC elite softball camps and he sought her expertise to help the Lady Leopards' hitters. Zaleski said the biggest adjustment to the job has been the office work, and she admits to putting in several seven-day weeks of up to 12 hours a day. "I bug all the other coaches around here with the office stuff," Zaleski said, admitting she's relied on the TC coaching staff perhaps a bit too much. "(Baseball coach Craig McMurtry) covers his ears when I walk back there because he knows I'm going in to get help. I've used him a lot." She said she's still called Hennig for some softball issues but admits they are both too busy to talk much. Hennig has already done more than enough. After all, he left behind a winning program and a team that represented the conference at the national tournament last year. Six players return from that team, all of whom likely will play significant roles this season. But Zaleski said nothing was guaranteed and after the fall season she made all her players turn in their jerseys and required each player to earn her spot on the team. It was a challenge the sophomores embraced. "We were nervous because we have a lot of good incoming freshmen," sophomore outfielder Samantha Jeter said. "All 19 players are good and can play the field and hit. We were wanting to prove to her that we were able to keep our position and hold our ground." Jeter, who batted .400 and had 26 stolen bases in 2010, will start alongside Troy product and fellow sophomore Jenny Calhoun (.359, 26 SB) in the outfield, while Zaleski said there are several players who could occupy the final outfield spot. Sophomore Jordan Bodin (.292, three home runs) likely will be the primary first baseman and Lindsey Rossi will be the main catcher. Rossi became heavily relied upon last year when the team's other catcher no longer could play the field due to a shoulder injury. Rossi batted .398 and proved her worth behind the plate with 27 assists and just two errors. This year, Zaleski has six pitchers who likely will see time in the circle, and Rossi looks forward to working with each of them. "I like to catch new pitchers," she said. "I love catching the ones I've been with, but I like the challenge to get to know what they throw and call a better game for them." The only returning pitcher is Marissa Yarborough, who was 4-4 with a 3.14 earned-run average. But she proved worthy of a starting job at the conference tournament, when TC's top two pitchers were sidelined with injury and illness. Yarborough got the team past McLennan in the championship game and sent the Lady Leopards to their third national tournament. "The way Marissa came on strong late last year has really made her a more confident pitcher," Zaleski said. "She put more pressure on herself and she expects that performance year-round, not just at the end of the year." Either she or freshman Emily Leib will start in Friday's opener, with the other pitching the second game. Leib, Gatesville's ace in recent seasons, said she knows with TC having so many pitchers that she has to keep fighting to keep her spot. More important, she - like all the freshmen - doesn't want to let the team down. "I was really excited when they went to nationals last year," she said. "I knew this team was going to be really, really good. And it was important to me to work my hardest and do my best to feel like I fit in." The same can be said of Zaleski, whose father, Maurice, remains TC's assistant coach. "It makes me nervous, but it's a good nervous," she said of trying to uphold Temple's tradition. "It's something to look forward to and something I strive for. The history Coach Hennig has built here and how well they did, even this last year, you expect great things and expect to be back (to the World Series) again. It puts the pressure on you, especially as a new coach." mhood@tdtnews.com This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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