Photo from CastlviewHospital.net
It was recently announced that Dalen Johnson will be the new head coach of the Emery softball team. While the Spartans had a successful year under Cody Jensen last season, Jensen elected to step down for personal reasons. That left a vacancy that Johnson will now fill after assisting with both Shawn Bell and Jensen over the past few years.
“One of my main goals is to continue with what Cody was doing last year. He really got things moving and taught the girls a lot,” Johnson began. “[He] taught them how to be fundamentally sound, how to win and how to have fun.”
Johnson went on to describe the fast-paced nature of practices and how that allowed the girls to receive a lot of reps, both in the field and at the plate. “No time was wasted,” added Johnson. The fruits of their labors were evident with a 16-9 record and a second-place finish in region.
Johnson hopes to continue to build the program from the ground up, but his biggest motivation is supporting his incoming team. “I’ve had these girls since they were eight and nine years old, playing softball every summer,” started Johnson. “You really get attached to them and start to care for them. I really want them to be successful.”
Along with getting extra reps and working hard in practices, Johnson believes an aggressive approach will also help the Spartans. “If you put a ball in play, chances are something good will happen offensively.” Johnson wants to be able to play small ball with teams, but also pick moments to open up swings and shoot for the fences.
Another one of Johnson’s goals is to build enthusiasm within the community for the sport. “I’m hoping we can get more of those younger kids interested. I’m hoping to get more excitement about softball so we can get some of those athletes to come play softball. Hopefully we can get them and share them with the other programs as well.”
“I’m excited, humbled as well. I sure am excited to work with these kids. Like I said, I’ve know them for a long time,” concluded Johnson. “I’m excited because we’ve got four returning starters from last year that are seasoned, battle-hardened and ready to lead. We’ve got some other girls, some seniors coming up and some younger girls even too, that are more than capable stepping in and taking over for those seniors that we lost last year. These girls are going to be successful. They’re going to be a team that everybody’s going to have to watch out for this year.”