Softball | 08/04/2020

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict softball team has experienced plenty of success in recent years, reaching the NCAA Regional Championships in 2018 and 2019 and winning 20 or more games in each of head coach Rachael Click's seven full seasons with the program.
 
After experiencing their own successes on the field, a number of Click's alumnae have joined the coaching ranks to help young softball players around the state grow their passion for the game and find their own success on the field.
 
This summer alone, 12 current or former Saint Benedict softball players coached softball at various levels ranging from high school varsity to 10U youth softball. Sara

Wennerstrand '18 has worked as a softball umpire around the area for the past few summers, although she took this summer off from umpiring to focus more on tennis.
 
Stacy Svihel, a 2014 CSB graduate and 2014 NFCA All-Central Region First Team selection, is the head varsity coach at Rochester Century High School. Though her team's 2020 spring season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said it helped her teach her athletes to be successful even in the face of adversity.
 
"What I love about coaching at the high school level is that I have the chance to provide student-athletes with the opportunity for success in a variety of situations, both as individuals and a team," said Svihel, a two-time All-MIAC First Team selection. "At the high school level, it really forces you into the motto 'Controlling the controllable.' Student-athletes, now more than ever, have many external factors pulling them every which direction. I get to create an environment where we strive not to let circumstances dictate our behavior and who we are. We respond to every situation with our character and our culture."
 
Claire Boatman '19 was slated to begin her first season as the varsity coach of the Faribault High School softball team in 2020 before the season was canceled, but she used the opportunity to be a role model for her athletes and teach them how to be strong on and off the field. She also coaches the Clutch Hitters 14U team.
 
"Throughout my four years of softball at CSB, I was surrounded by confident and independent women that inspired me to give back to the sport I love through coaching," said Boatman, who earned All-MIAC accolades as a senior. "I love helping athletes uncover their strengths on and off the field while encouraging them to become strong and confident women."
 
Kate Deming '19 helps Boatman coach the Clutch Hitters, and also works with the Jefferson High School JV team. Deming played softball for both programs growing up, and said coming back to help with two programs she is so familiar with has been rewarding.
"I love being able to coach for two programs that I personally grew up playing in, and I think it's a great opportunity to give back to the game and each program," said Deming, a two-time All-Region and four-time All-MIAC selection. "All my coaches (at CSB) pushed us to give back to the community during our careers, by working a variety of clinics for the local community. I find it exciting when (the athletes) can apply something in a game that I had taught them at practice. When I can see that something starts clicking for them, that makes it all worth it."
 
Rising junior Codi Zwack and rising sophomore Lexi Beck both coach youth softball around the area, and both agree that lessons learned with the Saint Benedict softball team have helped them become better coaches, while at the same time coaching will make them better players.
 
Beck coaches the Elk River 10U Black Team, and said that while she is teaching the players new drills and helping them improve their skills, they are also teaching her.
 
"CSB softball has definitely given me some examples of hitting stations and most importantly infield drills that we do on a collegiate level, and I brought that to the team to help them get better and be able to practice at a higher pace," she said. "Every day (coaching) you learn something new and believe it or not, younger players can change your mind set on things. Coaching softball lets you see the game from a different standpoint and that is helping me a lot with softball IQ."
 
Zwack is working with the Minnesota A's 16U Maroon squad this summer after having played in that same program each year since she was 14. This is her first year not eligible for the team due to her age, and she says watching her own coaches at Saint Benedict has helped her transition from player to coach, but that she'll also take some lessons learned from coaching back to the field with her for her junior season in 2021.
 
"(CSB coaches) do a lot of research and try to give us as much help with ways to make us better players, and that makes it easy to transfer that information to my players," Zwack said. "(Coaching) helps me see the game from a different perspective, and makes me understand our coaches a little more and what they think during our games and practices. As a coach it can be hard to sit back during a game and not want to just go out there and play, which is making me even more excited and anxious for next season."