Strahan continues to raise bar in softball

Kathy Strahan

It was perfect timing.

Administrative changes brewing at her former employer and her desire to shape a budding program helped push softball coach Kathy Strahan’s decision to resign from San Jose State.

Meanwhile, Sac State’s gutsy jump from Division II to Division I participation caught Strahan’s attention.

“You couldn’t have scripted it better,” Strahan said. “I was ready to move and the position opened up here. I applied and fortunately got the job.”

Seven years later, Strahan is still reveling in her good fortune having coached the Hornet softball program to a respectable 211-157-2 record.

The Michigan native and now Folsom resident is a true fan of the Sacramento area and sees her future firmly planted here.

“I’m at a point in my life when all the bells and whistles that might weigh a younger coach’s decision don’t exist for me,” Strahan said. “I would love to retire here if they let me stay and the area has a lot to do with that. It’s a hidden gem in the Northern California area.”

Part of the draw for her was and is the consistently superior pool of athletes she has to recruit from.

“The Sacramento Area is second in softball participation nationally only behind Orange County” Strahan said. “Big-name programs like Nebraska, Oregon and Stanford all recruit in this area because the talent pool is top-notch.”

She receives regular correspondence from coaches and athletes interested in her program so that when she is not working with her current players on the field, she’s working on bringing in future players.

“Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting,” Strahan replied when asked what she does off the field.

She spends the rest of her “spare time” in coordinating functions such as coaching clinics, a summer camp and the highly touted Capital Classic Softball Tournament which require year-round effort.

While the bulk of her time is taken with the daily tasks of maintaining a successful program, her thoughts often run to what could be done better. Topping her short list of changes is upgrading the softball facilities.

“Other Big West teams have or are in the process of upgrading,” she said. “The top 25 teams in the nation, like Stanford and UOP, have upgraded within the last five years. These are the teams I have to compete with for recruits. We need to have top-notch facilities to continue to draw top-notch athletes.”

She also is concerned about the marketing of athletics programs at the university and is hopeful that athletic director Debbie Colberg and marketing and promotions director Solomon Fulp will be influential in making changes during her tenure.

“Colberg’s style is conducive to inspiring participation and Solomon does wonders with limited help,” Strahan said.

Strahan said she knows that in order to get changes she has to keep her program solid, which includes high graduation rates.

“We’ve been tracking it since I began here and we run an approximate 80-percent graduation rate,” Strahan said. “We hold them accountable for their academics, running grade checks, requiring study hall of all first semester students and regular academic meetings with all the athletes. I also set the G.P.A. maintenance requirement higher than the athletic department as a whole.”

The attention to the players’ academics is based on her personal philosophy about student-athletes.

“My philosophy is they’re a human being first, a student second, and an athlete third,” Strahan said. “I’m here to try to provide them a learning experience and an avenue to obtain their college degree and it just turns out that we have a great softball program for them to be a part of while they’re doing that.”

Despite the time she spends with her players, she feels she’s still a bit of a mystery to them.

“They don’t know all there is to know about me,” Strahan said.

Assistant coach Jennifer Schultz, who played catcher for Strahan at Sac State from 1993 to ‘96, agrees that there is an “aura” about her. Reflecting on the impact Strahan has had on the game of softball.

“The experiences she’s had and her knowledge of the game set her apart,” Schultz said.

Strahan was a member of the 1979 national team, which won the gold medal at the Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She was also a member of the 1978 World Championship team and the 1976 Michigan State AIAW national championship team.

Her assistant coach further clarified that the person – not the former star athlete – makes Strahan notable.

“The biggest thing that stands out in my mind is her love to teach, help and encourage other people,” Schultz said.

Strahan said she is inspired by the people that she works with.

“I love working with young people, seeing them come in as freshmen and go through four years of tumultuous changes, watching them grow and progress to become influential, productive members of society,” Strahan said. “That’s what it’s all about.”