GAINESVILLE — As a coach, having success often times comes down to players, coaches, and fans buying into what you’re selling.
Chestatee’s Adam Rich apparently is the kind of guy that could sell an Eskimo a bag of ice.
After a decade of mostly non-competitive seasons, the third-year Lady War Eagles softball coach has brought the once-ultra-successful program back from the depths of obscurity. So far in 2016, Rich has guided them to a perfect 7-0 start as they head into a non-region doubleheader Wednesday against Rabun County.
The seven wins is tied for second-most in Class AAAA, though Chestatee has played two fewer games than Central-Carroll (8-1). They have averaged 8.2 runs per game -- in the top four in Class AAAA -- and have allowed just five runs (0.71 rpg) which is second in AAAA behind only Northside-Columbus (7-0, 4 runs allowed, 0.67 rpg).
The seven wins also already match his first season’s total in 2014 and they are on pace to vault past last year’s total of 11 by week’s end. It has been nearly a decade since Chestatee has posted a winning record and with 18 games left on the regular season schedule, just six more would knock that off their Bucket List for the 2016 season.
Rumor has it Rich has some swamp land in south Georgia he is looking to get rid of.
“I don’t know what went on in the past but the biggest thing really is that we’re into our third year and the girls have grown as players and in maturity and know what to expect,” Rich said. “We’ve just been working on them believing in their abilities. They started to see that last year and they came into this season ready to improve on those beliefs.”
Rich said when he arrived at Chestatee he found a group that had little confidence and lacked basic fundamentals to be successful in the fast-growing sport. That was priority No. 1, he said.
“Old habits are hard to break and it took a while for them to understand what we wanted them to do,” Rich said. “That first season most of the team were freshman so we were able to work with them on our program right from the beginning. For the first time they’ve all bought in and are playing for each other.”
You also know the message is resonating when the booster club president gets actively involved -- on the field.
“One game during the summer we needed some help and I look over and our booster club president (Chris Jones) is standing in the first base coach’s box ready to help out,” Rich said. “It says a lot when you have people from the top down ready to do whatever they can to help the program be successful. That’s what it takes sometimes. I feel fortunate that we have people who want to do that.”
Rich is no stranger to building a program. He spent 13 years as a softball coach in Florida, the last five as the head coach at Chiles High School in Tallahassee, where he guided them to the Final 4 in his final two seasons before arriving at Chestatee.
Rich said he saw signs this summer that they could be building toward something special for the 2016 season.
“We had our first winning summer and I think that gave the girls a lot of confidence,” he said. “We were playing some teams that had beaten us the last couple of seasons and the girls could see the progress they had made.”
The Lady War Eagles so far have been solid in all three phases -- pitching, hitting, defense -- and have used their depth as a weapon despite having just 11 players on the varsity roster.
Eddins sisters Becca (senior) and Beth (sophomore) have given them a solid 1-2 punch in the circle. But juniors Cheyenne Roper, Bailey Mason, and Danielle Ortega also have experience in the circle and give Rich multiple options.
Mason has led a tough lineup batting .500 on the young season, including three triples and eight doubles so far. Junior Hannah Jones is raking as well with a .429 average and freshman Katilyn Babb has played beyond her years already hitting .318 with seven RBI behind the plate. Roper is tied with Babb with seven RBI, which leads the team. As as a team they have six of their starting nine in the lineup with five or more RBI.
“What is fun to see right now is that there isn’t any one dominant area for us,” Rich said. “The pitchers have carried us in a few games and in others it was the offense. They’re picking each other up. That’s what you want to see.
“Not trying to single any one person out but Katilyn has been a real pleasant surprise because to put a freshman at the toughest position on the field is asking a lot. She has done a great job so far.”
But good starts aside, Rich acknowledged the real season will get under way on Thursday when they open Region 7-AAAA play on the road in Cleveland against White County (5-4). Their second region contest also will be on the road against Marist (3-1) next week.
“Those will be big tests for us,” Rich said. “We just want to keep getting better each day. We feel we’ll be competitive for a playoff spot, as long as we stay healthy.”
Being competitive was the goal coming into the season. The expectations may have changed after the first two weeks of the season.
“We knew we would be better this year,”Rich said. “We were expecting at least a .500 season based on what we saw in the summer. But this start is more than we really could have asked for from them.
“In the past Chestatee has been a stepping stone for other teams. Not anymore. We feel that we’re here now and that we belong. Now we just have to keep it going.”
