Introducing MCC’s newest head coach
Ben Garcia
The new year brings changes for people. For the MCC softball team, the new years brings a new coach, new hope and new challenges for the Lady Tbirds.
New head coach Wayne Hill will take over as head coach for Jon Malgradi.
Hill brings nearly 20 years of coaching experience at the high school level to his first ever college coaching job at MCC.
Hill has the approach of wanting to teach the game of softball to his players but at the same time Hill wants his players to grow off the field as much as they will on the field.
Hill said the thing he wants his girls to take away most from being coached by him are the life lessons that will allow them to better function in the real world.
“Finding self motivation, planning and organizing and setting their priorities. You can learn this on the ball field and this is something that they can certainly take into their life after softball.”
A new challenge for Hill will be taking over a new team. In order to replace former players like Tiffanee Frampton, “someone will have to step up,” said Hill.
“We have a good pitching staff. I feel very confident … our hitting has become very strong; we started off slow in the fall but we are becoming very strong.”
Hill also believes that the key for the Lady Tbirds is to play relaxed.
Hill will enforce the fundamentals of the game to his players and that will allow them to play relaxed.
Getting a college coaching job was a “dream” said Hill.
This may be Hill’s first coaching job at MCC but his roots here at MCC extend back many years.
Hill attended MCC and it is also where he met his wife of 35 years.
Hill has two daughters who are also MCC alumni and played on the softball team as well.
Hill, the Mesa native, has expectations for his team just as any coach would and that is to win. “I think we have a team to surprise a lot of our opponents.”
