Fullerton Head Coach Returns to National Team Duty
Cal State Fullerton head coach Michelle Gromacki has joined the staff of the 2010 USA Softball Women’s National Team. (Photo Courtesy USA Softball)
FULLERTON, CA – Cal State Fullerton head softball coach Michelle Gromacki has accepted a coaching position with the 2010 USA Softball Women’s National Team, the Amateur Softball Association announced on Thursday.
Gromacki, who recently completed her 11th season as head coach of the Titans, joined the team in time to help lead the United States to a seventh consecutive and ninth overall gold medal at the International Softball Federation’s Women’s World Championships in Caracas, Venezuela, defeating Olympic champion Japan, 7-0, in five innings in the championship game.
She will also assist with the national team during the fifth-annual KFC World Cup of Softball on July 22-26 in Oklahoma City, OK.
Gromacki is no stranger to Team USA as both a player and a coach. She previously served as an assistant coach for the USA Blue Team in 2001 and the USA “Elite” National Team from 2002-04, competing in international tournaments and serving as the “sparring partner” for the U.S. National Team in preparation for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens.
In 2003, she helped lead the “Elite” Team to a gold medal at the Canada Cup with an 11-1 record and a roster that featured former Titans, Gina Oaks and Jodie Cox.
As a player, Gromacki was also selected as a member of the U.S. National Team that participated in the tournament to open the Olympic Softball Complex in Columbus, GA, prior to the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.
In 1994, Gromacki was a member of several U.S. National Teams that claimed gold medals at the South Pacific Classic Tournament, the World Championships in Canada, and the Pam Am Qualifier in Guatemala. She was a participant in the Olympic Sports Festival in St. Louis as both a player and assistant coach.
From 1985-92, Gromacki participated in three Olympic Sports Festivals and was a member of two U.S. National Teams that took gold medals in international competition in China (1987) and Japan (1985). She also spent eight months playing on a travelling team in New Zealand from 1988-89..