Crusading for Success: Progressive Improvement the Key for Holy Cross

In the softball offices at Holy Cross, a large whiteboard hangs on the wall. It’s filled with different things, written in different-colored ink to differentiate. Last season’s statistics are in black. A “theme” question, something that the program wants to be the epicenter of some fall thought processes, is centered at the bottom and written in a color all its own.

Head coach Kim Stiles took over the helm of the Crusaders in mid-September last year. A late hiring in the offseason coaching cycle, she had to get her “sea legs” under her right away and begin to rebuild the program that won just eight games in the season prior.

“I stayed in Division 2 for a long time,” Stiles said. “I was waiting for the right fit [to move into D1]. I think coaches are like kids who are looking for a school that’s the right fit for them; I really like the high-academic schools. I wanted a Division 1 opportunity, but I also know myself well enough to know that I wanted a small school and a high academic environment. I came in [to Holy Cross] and interviewed and I was here probably an hour and was like ‘Yep, this is the right place for me.’ I loved everything about it.”

Stiles’ first year at the helm saw the Crusaders reach heights and accomplish things they had not done thus-far this millennium.

A Senior Day doubleheader sweep meant more to the Holy Cross program than just giving their graduating roster members a proper sendoff; the pair of wins gave the Crusaders 20 wins on the year. It was the first time the program had reached that number of victories since 1999 – and only the fourth time it had been done in program history.

“For me personally, I hate failure; I hate failure more than I love succeeding,” Stiles noted. “Once the kids were convinced that they could do it, I think that started to translate. They had this belief that okay, we can do this; she believes in us. And they started to believe in themselves… there were some rough days, but you know, it’s just amazing to see, for instance, someone that had hit .180 as a freshman hit .340 as a sophomore. To see the improvements was really awesome – and the kids could see [the improvements] and that made a big difference.”

“Once the players realized ‘Hey, we’re getting better and we are making progress’ and they could see that, it really started to hit its stride,” Stiles added. “There were moments where I was like ‘Oh my goodness, we’re terrible’, but I think you have to know how to step back and realize how much progress is being made, even in three months. And we just continued to get better and I’m hoping that we can continue to build on that.”

Entering 2023, the Crusaders won’t be seen as a “pushover” team; they proved themselves to be a tough fight for any opponent last year. Call it added pressure, call it elimination of the surprise factor after a breakthrough year. However you moniker it, it won’t change the process or the message in the Holy Cross locker room.

“Focus on us getting better,” is Stiles’ straightforward message. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to show up. Got to pitch, got to hit, got to play defense. It’s ‘show up and win.’”

Progress in the statistical realm is what Stiles is after and what she wants to see from her club. “I think 25 wins is what my intention is,” she said, indicating an incremental building process. “That will still put us right around .500, but in another year, we can exceed .500. I have high expectations for our freshman pitcher, and that’s a big piece. We have some upperclassmen that I think can really step up and into roles this year. I expect them to flourish and we’re ready to see them take off with high expectations for this year.”

During year one of the Stiles era, the Crusaders did make improvements and reach new heights; despite the positive takeaways from the season, it’s just the first building block in what the coach hopes will be a continued and progressive improvement for her program.

“I’m in this for the long run,” she said. “I want to build something here that’s really good. We’re going to have some tougher moments, but we also got to a really good place last season and to a place this fall that was even better. We may have growing pains, but we’ll get there. We are building.”