From Katie Willis, Communications Coordinator, USA Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY – USA Softball announced today the complete coaching staff for the USA Softball Women’s (WNT) and Junior Women’s National Team (JWNT) Programs. Selected from the USA Softball WNT Coaching Pool,the coaches selected will lead their respective programs as they compete around the country this summer.
Joining USA Softball WNT Head Coach Ken Eriksen (Tampa, Fla./Head Coach at South Florida) on the coaching staff are Howard Dobson (Baton Rouge, La./Assistant Coach at LSU), Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz./Head Coach at CSUN), John Rittman (Valencia, Calif./Associate Head Coach at Kansas), and Heather Tarr (Redmond, Wash./Head Coach at Washington). Both Dobson and Rittman were a part of the USA Softball WNT coaching staff who helped lead the U.S. to a Gold Medal finish at last year’s WBSC Women’s World Championship. Flowers returns to the USA Softball WNT coaching staff with prior experience coaching the JWNT and most recently leading the USA Softball Women’s Elite Team, who competed alongside the WNT in the World Cup of Softball XI last summer. Tarr will head into her first season as a coach for the National Team Program.
Click here to see the athletes selected to the 2017 USA Softball Women’s National Team
Eriksen and his staff will lead the USA Softball WNT at the World Cup of Softball XII and at a Pan American Games/World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) World Championship Qualifier. The complete schedule for the Red, White and Blue, including exhibition games, will be released at a later date.
Joining USA Softball JWNT Head Coach Laura Berg (Corvallis, Ore./Head Coach at Oregon State) on the coaching staff are Trisha Ford (Fremont, Calif./Head Coach at Arizona State), Kristie Fox (San Diego, Calif./Head Coach at UT-Arlington), Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif./Director of Operations at CSUN), and Lori Harrigan-Mack (Las Vegas, Nev./Pitching coach at College of Southern Nevada). This marks the second-consecutive season for Ford and Fox on the USA Softball JWNT coaching staff, while Watley and Harrigan-Mack will have their first stint as coaches with the National Team Program.
Click here to see the athletes selected to the 2017 USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team
The USA Softball JWNT coaching staff will look to lead the Red, White and Blue at the World Cup of Softball XII and the WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship, which will be held July 24-30 in Clearwater, Fla. The complete schedule for the USA Softball JWNT, including exhibition games, will be released at a later date.
For more information on the USA Softball National Team Programs, visit USASoftball.com.
MEDIA CONTACT
Codi Warren
Managing Director of Communications