Club Coach Profile: Suzy Willemssen, the Founder of Virginia Glory Fastpitch

COACH PROFILE: SUZY WILLEMSSEN

Suzy Willemssen, an Iowa alum, is a talented club and high school coach, private instructor, and the founder of Virginia Glory Fastpitch. The Extra Inning Softball Top-50 club coach regularly has teams nationally ranked and competing at major events. The highly-regarded, NFCA-certified coach took some time out to talk about her philosophy and coaching experience.

COACH PROFILE Q&A

Name: Suzy Willemssen
Hometown: Fairfax Station, VA
High School: West Waterloo High of Waterloo, IA
Club Team: Virginia Glory National-Willemssen
College: Iowa
Twitter: @suzywillemssen

Top Coaching Honors/Accomplishments:
VISAA State Coach of the Year for 2019 and 2021; National Conference Coach of the Year for 2015 and 2017; 4-Star Master Coach for the NFCA; 2020 Extra Inning Top 50 coach (2020); “I’m extremely proud that the VA Glory organization has raised almost $300,000 for Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC to fight pediatric cancer with our summer tournament and camp,” Willemssen said. “We have consistently been the top travel/youth organization in terms of money raised for the NFCA Strikeout Cancer initiative and this past year the organization was the top fundraising organization for all categories.”

Coaching Highlights:
Crowned HS State Champions in 2019 and 2021; spoke at the 2021 NFCA Convention; placed 17th at PGF Premier 16U Nationals (2021); and placed 9th at the 16U TC/USA National Championship (2019).

How do you approach the game?
I try to create an environment where everyone can do their best work — that goes for players, coaches, and parents. A team first, we-over-me culture so players feel safe to be themselves and not afraid to fail. I would like to think I’m a positive demanding coach. We love to stretch the players and foster a desire to embrace the struggle for that means we are getting better. Be a relentless competitor and look at challenges as opportunities to show what we are made of as individuals and as a team. Doing the little things are important components to our team and organization.

What’s your area of expertise?
I’ll let others decide if I have any expertise (LOL), but my passions are base running, throwing, speed of play, hitting and pitch calling. I love teaching those skills plus their nuances and having players learn to become their best teacher. Cultivating cultures where it’s person over player — developing competitors with a team-first attitude is dear to my heart.

What are some of your favorite training methods?
I love to see the players explore different ways they can move to make things happen, be creative. Situations are designed with time and other constraints to help them discover things they never knew they could do. Create challenges so they not only work on their physical skills, but the mental skills. Make practice more difficult than the game, so when they compete they feel prepared for anything. She who adjusts wins. Compete.

What’s your schedule/routine?
Well, it’s pretty much softball as I oversee the VA Glory organization, coach an 18U national team and help train other teams in the organization. I also do hitting and pitching instruction outside of the organization. My O’Connell High season is just around the corner, and we have preseason training until the season starts Feb 20th. Each day is different, so I just go with the flow.

Top players you’ve coached?
I have the honor of coaching top-ranked players like Kaylie Avvisato and (Oklahoma State-commit) Katie Kutz, but there are so many outstanding players. This past DI College World Series there were three former VA Glory players competing headlined by FSU’s Kathryn Sandercock and VA Glory players on D3 Champs Virginia Wesleyan University. Players like former Gatorade Player of the Year, Chelsey Dunham, who played at Yale, is now Dr. Dunham. Over the years many tremendous young women on and off the field that have taught me so much.

Other sports coached?
I’ve also coached basketball.

Is coaching and/or softball your full-time or “day job?”
Coaching/training softball is my full-time job.

Did you have a coach or mentor that helped you get started?
My oldest daughter wanted to play softball and since I had played, I offered to help her rec coach. That was back in 1994. I just jumped in and away we went. I’d read books like Kathy Veroni’s — the first fastpitch coaching book, Dr. June Walker’s drills, Pat Summitt, Jeff Janssen, Cindy Bristow, watch/listen to anything by Coach (Sue) Enquist — heck, I still get fired up by her! I ordered tapes from Championship sports with drills by Coach (Patty) Gasso, Coach (Carol) Hutch (Hutchins), etc. Went to coaching clinics like Be The Best and picked the brains of local coaches like HOF Tommy Orndorff. Being curious and connecting with many wonderful people that were so giving with their time. I still love to do that and hope I’m able to give back and be there for someone like so many have been for me.

What is the best part of your job?
I feel when you have a platform you have a responsibility to use it for a bigger purpose. I’m so lucky to have such great coaches and families in our VA Glory organization that feel the same way. Mike Mertz, Kevin Bednoski, Kelly and Scott Bronowicz, Brian Griffith, Jay Wimmer, Larry Myers have been with the organization for quite a few years and have been instrumental in what we are trying to create. We aren’t perfect but we try to live our words of Purpose. Driven. Softball. Striving together to develop warrior spirits with a servant’s heart. I have met so many fantastic people. The wins are nice, but it’s the relationships that are formed that you never forget. From helping a player reach her dream, discover things about herself; the coaches I get to be in the trenches with, compete against, learn from; the parents, what an honor to be entrusted with their daughter’s future. Teaching life lessons through the sport you love—how can you top that? The joy is in the journey.

The worst?
Missing some of my daughter’s HS softball competitions and other family events. I’m extremely blessed with an incredible husband and family, who are my biggest cheerleaders, supporting my love for the game.

Do you think softball is in a better place now than 10 years ago? Why or why not?
Yes, it is better — the college softball ratings are off the charts, so many games being live-streamed and the new AU league and now the AUX league are looking strong. However, even though this June will be the 50th anniversary of Title IX, there is still a lot of work to do. There are inequities between the college divisions when it comes to postseason play — both outside of softball and within our sport.

As a softball community, we are in a position to help with the mental health wellbeing of our athletes. Social media, the impact of Covid, fear of failure/being judged are some of their challenges. We have the opportunity to equip them with tools to help them navigate their landscape. Making sure they know their value as a human being is not based on what they do on the field, how many A’s or likes they get.

What other club and/or high school coaches (list 1-3) do you admire and why?
There are a lot of tremendous coaches out there and I’ve always enjoyed competing again Empire State Huskies Penny Rosario Roberts and respected her approach to the game. I put Donny Dreher from the Finesse in that category as well.

— Carlos Arias, Extra Inning Softball (Follow Carlos on Twitter @Los_Stuff)