RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
Most readers of Extra Inning Softball know you can nominate a player for the rankings, but did you know you can also nominate a coach?
That’s right… we did college, high school and club coach rankings in December, but it can also be a great way to bring to our attention great coaches who merit a story for how they impact the sport.
That’s what Bryan Garrett, who is the Head Coach of the East Cobb Bullets – Coleman 16U National team, did in making us aware of all the great work that Rachel Coleman does.
The former DI softball player and coach has her hand in many softball ventures today as:
- Rachel oversees the East Cobb Bullets – Coleman program based in Pennsville, New Jersey, coaching the 18U team and serving as the organizations’ recruiting coordination.
- She is also an entrepreneur and has started a recruiting company, SoftballRecruiting.com that has led to over $2 million in scholarship money for players
- The former DI pitcher also produces tournaments under the East Coast Softball banner and was involved with the Softball School run by The Package Deal last Spring.
- The successful coach even has a company and website, Rachel Coleman Sports, to serve as a central location to tie in all her softball business ventures.
Her ties in the sport are extensive based on her background—she worked as either a coach or GA for Tennessee, Kennesaw State and Delaware University and after getting into coaching, Rachel has had five of her own pitchers receive DI scholarships with another accepted into Yale.
Still, it’s about the people and Rachel explains, “I do my best for everyone I am surrounded by!”
Coach Bryan writes:
“Rachel has had a huge impact in empowering girls to be leaders, challenging them out of their comfort zone and pushing team to not only compete on the field but off too.”
“All players eligible to be committed or signed is on her team from Villanova, Boston University, Yale University, WCU, Kennesaw State, Providence, JSU, Towson, and we already have a ton of schools following our 2023 and 2024 players.”
“More importantly, Rachel is instrumental in the girls’ lives, helping their families make it work so their daughters have the greatest opportunity.”
This summer, her Bullets teams have been invited to Colorado Sparkler, Atlanta Legacy, Power 50 and PGF Nationals.
We caught up with the coach, event producer, recruiting specialist and successful entrepreneur to ask her background, her passion for all she does and what gives her the most joy in the sport… here are her answers…
Click HERE to watch a short video of her team and what the players and coaches like about being a Bullet and playing for her:
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Tell us how you first got into softball and pitching…
When I was five years old, my mom made me choose between softball and dance… I chose softball! Even at five, I knew my passion was being on the ballfield!
My softball career started with playing T-Ball for our local Little League. When I was nine, I was chosen to be on the 9/10 year-old All-Star team. I was the only 9-year-old selected for the team and during our regional playoff game our pitcher was struggling. The coach turned to me and asked “Can you pitch?” I said “YES!” despite never pitching in a game before!
I led our team to a victory from the mound that day. My experience in the circle on that warm summer evening taught me anything was possible if you believe!
What was your youth/club days like? Who did you play for and what were some of your highlights growing up?
When I was 12, I began playing travel ball. I was pitching in the State Championship game when Sonia, one of my teammates who normally sat the bench, got her best hit of the season. The whole team jumped up and cheered congratulating her for the awesome hit!
We won the State Championship Title that day and at the end of the game, I was awarded the MVP medal. I took the medal off my neck and placed it around Sonia’s neck. She was the MVP that day! This experience taught me the value of being a team player.
When I was 14, I was selected to play for an 18U travel team. I was once again the youngest on the team. My first weekend playing for the 18U team, I pitched against a Gold team that had earned an 18U Gold National Tournament. I am not even sure I knew what a Gold team was back then!
I stepped onto the mound and pitched my game leading our team to a victory! I remember the coach on the Gold team being furious that they were beat by a 14-year-old on the mound! This is when I learned the value that comes with having passion for the game.
These experiences as a youth laid the groundwork for my values as a coach.
Talk about your college days… what do you remember most about that time?
I was recruited to play at Rider University, achieving my goal to play softball at the collegiate level. My playing career was cut short due to a shoulder injury, but one thing the game has taught me was the importance of making adjustments. I was not going to let the injury deter my passion for softball.
The adjustment I made was transferring to the University of Delaware (UD) to get my degree in Sports Management at one of the best undergrad programs in the country. I knew I would one day become a coach so I picked up a second major in coaching.
BJ Ferguson, the longtime head Softball Coach at UD became my advisor for the coaching program. Her coaching philosophy emphasized the importance of getting a good education. To this day, I continue to teach my players what BJ taught me about the importance of “student” in the term student-athlete.
My senior year I moved to Georgia for an internship position under Softball Hall of Fame Coach Scott Whitlock at Kennesaw State. What an amazing experience to learn from one of the very best in the industry!
I remember Scott’s administrative assistant saying he got hundreds of emails a day from players and asking me how I got Scott to respond to my email. Scott remembered me from the countless times I introduced myself when I attended his speaking engagements at the “Be the Best” convention in NJ.
Scott also remembered giving me a tour of the campus when I was in High School. I use this experience to teach my players the value of building a relationship with college coaches.
You impressively continued your education and got a master’s degree at Tennessee… what was that like?
After finishing my internship at Kennesaw, I moved to Tennessee to obtain my master’s degree in Sports Management at the University of Tennessee working under Softball Hall of Fame coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly for two years.
They included the graduate managers in all of the coaching meetings we could possibly attend. What another amazing experience to learn from the very best in the industry!
While breaking down game films, I learned all about what coaches look for when scouting opponents. I even wrote my Master’s thesis on how studying film helped give Tennessee Softball an advantage before they even stepped onto a field.
During my second year at Tennessee, I got the ultimate college softball experience…we were headed to the World Series!
I got to experience what every young softball player dreams of experiencing, going to the World Series. The experience at Tennessee taught me what it takes to win at the highest of levels. My experience watching film frame-by-frame with Hall of Fame Coaches also taught me the difference between good and bad mechanics and the importance of preparing before each game.
After you got your Master’s Degree, where did you go then?
After I graduated from Tennessee, I was able to use all the experience I gathered over the years when I accepted the position to be the Assistant Softball Coach at the University of Delaware.
I achieved many successes during my time at UD taking them to the CAA tournament for the first time in three years and winning their first CAA tournament game in 12 years. We also posted consecutive 30-win seasons for the second time in school history and achieved the highest GPA ranking in school history.
*** Scroll down to see what excited Rachel about working with softball and how her recruiting business works…