Rounding the Bases checks in with first-year assistant coaches at new programs and shines a spotlight on their coaching styles and perspectives. Some may be rookies in the coaching world, while others may be seasoned veterans who have simply moved to a new locale.
Check out previous articles in this spotlight series:
- Samantha Santillo, Robert Morris
- Rachel Huggins, Eastern Illinois
- Brad Posner, Bucknell
- Campbell Hutcherson, George Mason
- Mary Stephens, Northwestern State
- Kris Richards, George Washington
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One of the finest pitching careers in the Mid-American Conference’s recent history belonged to Courtney Vierstra. Five years in a Miami Redhawks uniform saw Vierstra post a career 2.22 ERA, 82 wins, and 1,005 strikeouts. Opponents hit just .210 against her in those five years and she gave up just 148 extra base hits in nearly 780 innings of work.
Suffice it to say, she was dominant.
After her playing career ended with the 2022 season, Vierstra joined the coaching ranks, being named the pitching coach at her alma mater. After missing part of her super senior year due to injury, Vierstra had already filled a de facto pitching coach role; now, she fills that capacity full-time.
Extra Inning Softball: When did you know that you wanted to pursue a coaching path?
Courtney Vierstra: I’ve given pitching lessons to high school kids and younger kids, really anywhere from 8 to 18, for the last five years, my entire college career. And I always enjoyed it, but I always did it because I wanted girls to learn things [at an age] before I learned them. I helped out a lot [at Miami] this past season when I was hurt; I was hurt off-and-on – nothing serious, but it wasn’t my best pitching for the last month and a half of the season. During that time, I helped out with the other pitchers. I helped out with one pitcher and she went and pitched a full game, conference game, and did really, really well. And once she did so well, I was so pumped and so excited, and I had never felt that feeling other than when I was pitching. I was almost more excited for her than I ever had been for myself when I did well on the field. And I remember going up to [head coach Kirin Kumar] and I told her ‘I understand why you do what you do now. I understand why you coach.’ That was the “Aha!” moment; I’ve always wanted to be a teacher or something in that realm, but that specific moment was where I was like ‘I think I know what I want to do.'”
Extra Inning Softball: Describe your coaching style; what do you feel like are your biggest strengths as a coach?
Courtney Vierstra: My coaching style, I’m very personable. I really like to develop relationships. I think it’s really important for the players to know that you care, so I always want them to know that I’m here for them. I’m not here to compare them to me, to someone else that pitched, to someone who was in the World Series. I want them to be their own person. and building a relationship is a big thing for me. As far as biggest strengths, I’ve been through it all, especially here. I think that’s a huge plus for me, having been there and done that. I’ve seen different coaching philosophies, different ways to do things. I always want to learn; I am never going to be satisfied with doing something a certain way. I want to learn the best way to do it, however that looks.
Extra Inning Softball: Tell me how you navigate going straight from college player to college coach, especially at the same school.
Courtney Vierstra: It’s definitely hard. It’s a lot different on the coaching side of things than being a student-athlete; there are a lot of things that I never thought about or that I never had to [think about]. The hardest part is that I obviously just played with some of these girls – most of them – and you go through things together in college sports that nobody else has gone through in a certain way. The hardest thing is probably that it’s a different relationship now. Now it’s coach to player. That being said, it’s not that I can’t talk to them or something like that, but I think I’ve established myself enough as a leader and just as someone who, like I mentioned, really cares about people and about the relationships that I have with people. So they trust me and they will come to me, even during my time playing, to ask me questions about softball. So I think it’s not as difficult of a transition as people think from that aspect, but also, if I didn’t think it would work or that it would be a good fit, I would never have even considered this position here and with these girls.
Extra Inning Softball: Let’s flip that around; what has the dynamic been like in the coaches room, for you now being a peer with people who were just your own coaches last year?
Courtney Vierstra: I was the type of player who asked a lot of questions. So I spent a lot of time with them already – and they really always welcomed questions that I had. And it could be anything from a simple operational standpoint or practice or a pitching standpoint. Just the fact that, as a player, I asked so many questions and they were good with that, and now with me being a coach, they still welcome those questions about anything. That was my biggest fear; I like to know the best way to do things and [Kumar] and [assistant coach Morgan Zerkle] are very smart, intelligent people when it comes to the game. It’s been really good so far. I’ve learned so much already and being able to be with them and around them all day, it’s been really good.
Extra Inning Softball: How much does the experience of having been at Miami and having such intimate knowledge of both the program and the entire region benefit you now that you’re coaching?
Courtney Vierstra: Honestly, it’s huge. I’m from Ohio, so I know a lot of players from Ohio, a lot of players from the surrounding areas just simply because I’ve grown up and played in that area. This is one place that Morgan Zerkle and I are similar, I never went to California or Colorado or Atlanta, and I never traveled the country. I was not on a big-name travel team, so I know what those kids look like. If you don’t get a shot at a bigger school or that other schools miss on, I’ve known what it’s like to be in that position and I know so many people in the area, from coaches to players, it’s huge to have those connections from before I even became a coach. I’m very big on loyalty, so that’s a big part of it too.
Extra Inning Softball: After you get the first year as “Coach Courtney” under your belt, what would define whether or not it was a successful season for you and your staff?
Courtney Vierstra: Obviously, we want to get better always. Honestly, if at the end of the year, if they can understand the game and become more confident in their abilities and just as a person, then I think that would be a successful year. And for me, having to get creative with things – I like being challenged. I want to be able to say that I went and found a different drill or a different way of doing something better. And then I want each individual pitcher to develop their own identity, as a person and as a pitcher, and to understand the game as best they can. I think the more you understand it, the better you’re going to be. I want us to do better than last year, on top of everything, and I want the pitchers to be able to walk away from this year having done things that we’ve never done here before.
