During her playing career at North Carolina, Campbell Hutcherson was a reliable part of the Tar Heel infield. As a freshman, she recorded nearly 300 putouts and was part of ten double plays – contributing to the team’s overall total that ultimately tied the UNC program’s single-season record.
After spending five years in Tar Heel powder blue, Hutcherson stayed in the ACC to begin her college coaching career. She spent the 2022 season as the volunteer assistant at Virginia before being hired this summer as the lead assistant at George Mason.
Extra Inning Softball: When did you know that you wanted to pursue coaching as your career path?
Campbell Hutcherson: I would say that about halfway through my collegiate playing career I began to consider coaching as a potential career path. I majored in Exercise and Sport Science and minored in Coaching Education at UNC-Chapel Hill and really enjoyed the subject material of those classes and all of my professors. I had also been blessed by having some really good coaches throughout my playing career, and I wanted to give back to the game that I love so much by hopefully becoming a great coach for those players who come behind me. In addition, playing for — and learning from – Coach Papa, who is a Hall of Fame inductee, provided great inspiration for me in terms of pursuing my dream of becoming a collegiate coach because I could see how much joy teaching, coaching and mentoring student-athletes brought her on a daily basis, and she’s been doing it for over 40 years! Finally, my parents have always encouraged me to pursue a career doing something about which I am passionate, and having the opportunity to impact young women during such a pivotal stage in their lives, when they are juggling academics, athletics and the demands of being a student-athlete, is an honor and a privilege for me.
Extra Inning Softball: Describe your coaching style. What do you feel are your biggest strengths as a coach?
Campbell Hutcherson: I strive to facilitate a family environment for my players, which I think can be critically important to a team’s success. By that I mean that I am able to empathize with my athletes, for I know (having recently gone through it for five years) first-hand the pressures they are experiencing on the field, in the classroom and just with life in general. I am also extremely caring and compassionate, and I always focus on the student-athlete’s physical and mental wellbeing first and foremost, after which I focus on her as a softball player. I also work hard on understanding who the players are and the backgrounds from which they come, for knowing and understanding the players on a personal level is consistent with my approach of caring about them as individuals first. Exhibiting a commitment to your players that you will be there for them, no matter the circumstances, is so important to developing the sense of trust that has to be there between coach and athlete for success both on and off the field. Having a relationship with the players built upon trust also allows a coach to show tough love when it’s necessary and confirms for the players that the coach’s behavior is not arbitrary but rather is done out of compassion and respect for them as individuals and as a team. I am also highly energetic, extremely passionate about teaching and improving, and ultra-competitive, and I bring that intensity daily to the office and to the field.
Extra Inning Softball: Tell me what you gleaned from your time as volunteer assistant at UVA. What were the biggest positives that you took from that experience that will serve you now as a full-time coach?
Campbell Hutcherson: I consider my year as a volunteer assistant as one of my life’s greatest blessings. Immediately following my playing career, I was able to begin work at a premier university that shared many of the qualities and characteristics of my alma mater. Specifically, UVA — like UNC — has an extremely competitive softball program playing at a very high level while simultaneously being committed to success in the classroom, which was very important to me. I learned a great deal from each member of the UVA staff, much of which I will be incorporating into my own “coaching style” going forward.
I would say that the greatest “positive” of my year in Charlottesville was the extent to which Coach [Joanna Hardin] treated me as a full-fledged member of the staff and not merely as an unpaid intern of sorts. In addition to working with the outfielders and baserunners, I served as camp director during the summer and fall and as the liaison between the softball program and the UVA athletic department, which included writing newsletters for the alumni, handling game day activities, coordinating travel logistics, and working with the ticketing and event management offices on a variety of tasks. Coach Jo entrusted me with a great deal of responsibility during my time there, for which I am very thankful, as I know being exposed to all aspects of a college softball program will make me an even better assistant for Coach [Justin] Walker.
Extra Inning Softball: What drew you to the George Mason position and made it attractive to you?
Campbell Hutcherson: The George Mason position felt like a good fit for many reasons. First, Coach Walker is family-oriented and is a firm believer in work-life balance, which was highly appealing to me. Second, Coach Walker is sincere and extremely caring, which became evident to me while working camps with him the previous year. Throughout all of our interactions, I could tell that he truly cared about me and my growth as a young coach and that he wanted to put me in the best position to succeed. In addition, George Mason is blessed with an extremely talented and highly competitive group of athletes, and I firmly believe that we can compete for a top spot in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Given the talent we have (and the players that we are recruiting for the years ahead) I was excited at the thought of being an integral part of the continued growth of the Mason program, for I think this team is capable of accomplishing great things. Third, I know that George Mason truly embraces the concept of the student-athlete, and I see it as a blessing to coach at a school that places a strong emphasis on academics.
Extra Inning Softball: Having played and then begun your coaching career in the same region where you are now a full-time coach, how big of a benefit for you is that regional familiarity?
Campbell Hutcherson: It’s a huge benefit! Growing up and playing travel ball in NC and surrounding states, then playing collegiately in the ACC and then serving as a volunteer assistant at UVA has been a significant advantage for me while on the recruiting trail, for I am now quite familiar with most of the travel ball organizations on the East coast. Starting from scratch in a new part of the country for me would have been extremely difficult, and thus knowing the travel organizations and their coaches, as well as being familiar with many other college coaches in the area, has allowed me to hit the ground running with regard to recruiting.
Extra Inning Softball: The last couple of years have not been easy for anyone in the coaching world… how have the challenges of the mid-pandemic times affected and influenced you and how you do what you do as a coach?
Campbell Hutcherson: During my year as a volunteer assistant, we were still dealing with some of the pandemic-generated restrictions on travel and miscellaneous team activities. For example, following away games the players typically were provided with a “to go” meal that had to be eaten in their rooms to minimize team-wide contact. During a non-COVID season, teams are able to go to restaurants as a group and are able to enjoy the fun and camaraderie of being out together, which in turn forms the basis of much of the “bonding” that is so important to a team’s culture. In addition, and all teams faced this of course, there were instances where a player might test positive at the last minute, which would impact the line-up, travel arrangements and basically everything else associated with either practice or a game.
On a personal note, I was forced to quarantine during the last two post-season games in which UVA played in Colorado, which meant the team returned to Virginia after the games while I remained in Colorado. Missing the last two games of the season and being unable to say goodbye to the players and staff, with whom I had developed a relationship and whom I cared about very much, was extremely difficult for me.
As is the case with every other coach, our staff is hopeful that the pandemic is more or less behind us and that any disruptions to our fall practices and games will be minimal. We, of course, are being careful and are constantly monitoring our players’ health and will continue to do so.
Extra Inning Softball: Let’s say we’re having this conversation one year from now, once you have a full season at Mason under your belt. What needs to have happened during that season for you to be able to say ‘this was a successful year’?
Campbell Hutcherson: To me, success can be measured in two different ways for the season. Of course, I want our girls to excel across the board in all categories both offensively and defensively. I would love to finish with the highest stolen bases in the conference, top fielding percentage, and compete in the Atlantic 10 conference championship.
However, to me success is more than the numbers. To be successful, I want to look back and say: “Did our team develop relationships with one another? Did we stay healthy physically and mentally as a team? Did we compete to the best of our abilities every single game? Did we grow as women and players?” Those types of questions will be how I measure the success of our 2023 year.
