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December is our month to honor coaches in the softball world and on Monday, we start three weeks of our Extra Elite 100 Coach Rankings.
Here’s the upcoming schedule:
- Dec. 7: Extra Elite 100 High School Coach Rankings (deadline to submit: Fri. Dec.4 @ 5 pm EST)
- Dec. 14-Dec. 18: Extra Elite 100 Club Coach Rankings (deadline to submit: Fri. Dec. 11)
- Dec. 21-Dec. 25: Extra Elite 100 College Coach Rankings (deadline to submit: Fri. Dec. 18)
The coach ratings are for those currently active and making a difference in fastpitch. The rankings will be based on four criteria:
- softball success/accomplishments
- development of players
- passion for softball… and people
- impact on the sport
It has been inspiring to read the submissions and nominations from all across the nation and today’s coaching spotlight typifies an inspiring leader who is so important in many peoples lives…
*****
Name: JENNY BUZZELL-PARKER
Team: Virginia Unity
Level: Club/Travel
Coaching Record:
— Fall 2020: 34-14-2, schedule included ProSwings, D9, Scenic City, TBolts
— Career: 345-138-2
Honors & Accomplishments:
- NFCA Regional Coach of the Year 2019
- Top 7 at NFA Nationals, 8th place at 14U USA “A” Nationals, Top 10 USA JO Cup finish
- Her last 18U class had 10 of 11 sign to play college softball
- Played for current Auburn head coach Mickey Dean for travel and high school growing up
- Coached and ran her own organization for four years before merging with Virginia Unity five years ago.
Notable Players Coached:
Kyleigh Richardson (Georgia Southern), Lexi Benson (Mercy), Baylor Dunlap (Queens), Reed Butler (James Madison), Jessica Ford (JMU/Pensacola State), Mya Lyburn (Lynchburg).
Quotable:
“Coach Jenny is a dedicated female coach committed to using the sport of softball to empower female athletes into strong female leaders. If you ask Coach Jenny, she would tell you every player she has ever coached and currently coaches is notable. This is what makes her great: she makes every player—no matter their role—feel like they matter and are capable of doing anything the put the work into.” – Virginia Unity parent
Current Unity Players in Extra Inning Softball player rankings:
C/OF Onnika DeBruhl (2023), P/1B Haley Martin (2023), P/OF Natalie Scheweickert (2024), SS/3B Abby Crawford (2023)
*****
EXTRA INSIGHTS:
Inspiring Even by Phone
One of Coach Buzzell-Parker’s most notable player would be her daughter Camm Buzzell, who played for the Unity for four years, only ever playing for her mom and Coach Josh Camm, the Virginia Unity founder.
Camm played at Pensacola State her freshman year but suffered a stroke near the end of what was a great fall season for her and just days after playing at Auburn and Alabama.
During that time, Coach Jenny went to be with Camm, but she made sure to keep her team close to her sending them daily messages, practice reminders and even calling a parent during one of the games she was not at to give the team a pep talk (they scored four runs that inning).
“Though she was not physically with the team for a few weeks, Coach made them feel as important as she could during that time,” relayed one player’s parent.
Passion & Empowerment
One parent wrote: “If you have ever met Coach Jenny and talked softball or the importance of empowering female athletes, you will know right away her passion for the girls and the game is like none other. She gives so much to so many girls, not just her players on her teams.”
“Coach Jenny has a crazy passion for making sure the girls in the program leave as strong women,” one of her player’s parents state, “and if you’ve ever seen her on the field you know she’s one herself. She is a major part of the Unity organization and goes out of her way to watch all the teams play at tournaments that she has helped oversee organization winter workouts for the last few years (often spending 4 nights a week at the facility)
Do-It All “Volunteer”
For the last three years, Coach Buzzell has coached more than one team in the Unity organization despite not having a daughter playing in the program.
She manages the organization’s Blast Motion accounts, does the organization website, helps plan college showcases and camps hosted by Unity, organizes fundraisers, has coordinated the organization adopt-a-family for Christmas, plans and runs the organization senior class signing day, plans and helps run the organization’s 8U academy and last year helped put together the first Mini Baller Academy for 4-to-6-year-olds.
Generally, Buzzell helps the Unity coaches with anything they need for their teams and she does it all as a volunteer!
Multi-tasking
Not only does Buzzell coach two teams, she also works full time and is a wife and mother with two kids (Camm, a sophomore in college and Keenan, a 14-year-old stellar soccer player).
Jenny has spent years helping her daughter Camm with her passion to give back to the community with a number of food drives.
One parent adds, “Jenny isn’t just a coach to these girls for a season or two, she’s someone they can count on for years after. Many of the alumni’s keep in touch with her and she often checks in and reaches out to them. If you ever ask her what’s important, it is not that a team she coaches will win every game they play, but that her girls know they are capable of overcoming all of life’s challenges.”
“She takes so much pride in the girls reaching their goals and not just ones on the field and not just the players on her team—she is an advocate of hard work, passion and going after what you want. Coach Jenny truly loves her players, her teams and the Unity organization.”
Love for Her Players
A person close to the Unity organization explained, “We know that the travel ball world is full of great coaches but we also know as a group that Coach Jenny is one of them. There really are not many people who would spend weekend after weekend on the road, away from their family to be coaching and not have a kid on the team and do it all as a volunteer.”
“If you ever have the chance to see Coach Jenny with any of her Unity girls—no matter the age or team—you will see that she really loves them each for the unique person that they each are. As parents, players and fellow coaches, we want Coach Jenny to know there is an army behind supporting her and that are so thankful for everything she does for so many of these girls.”
Comments on Coach Jenny
Here are a few statements from players, coaches and parents explaining Coach Buzzells’s impact:
- “Coach Jenny helped me through the hardest time of my life when my dad was going through cancer. She never let me use that as an out to not work hard but always made sure I knew she was there. She was more than my coach during that time she was the person I knew I could count on.” – Unity player
- “The list is shorter of the reason not to, as a parent I couldn’t ask for a better woman for my daughter to look up to. I see her weekend after weekend go to the plate meeting with mostly men and she owns it. I see her fight for her athletes and the entire organization. I’m glad my daughter has her as a coach but I’m grateful she has her as a role model in life!” – Unity parent
- “Coach Jenny was the first call I made when I knew where I was going to go to college. I’ll always be thankful for her believing in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself.” – College player
- “During COVID-19, Coach Jenny knew I was having a hard time so she set up a time each day for us to talk. She really helped me focus on the things I could control.” – Unity player
- “During my freshman year of college, Jenny was always there for me to call and FaceTime and always reminded me I could get through it.” – College player
- “Jenny is such a valuable resource, as a male coach I often get her input on how to handle certain situations with my team. She is always encouraging as a peer and when it comes to getting things done she is the woman. She and Josh run a tight ship and the entire organization is grateful for them.” – Unity coach
