Monday kicked off the start of another spring sports season, and this time, Swampscott’s varsity softball team is under new leadership in Brittany Coppinger, who replaced former head coach Gary Moran earlier this year.
Coppinger was head coach of the junior varsity program before becoming an assistant varsity coach last season.
“I lucked out in my first year as a JV coach. All the kids, now, are on the varsity team. They know how I work and I know how they work… We’ve built a good rapport,” she said. “I’m excited to work with the kids and get their skills up. We have a bunch of kids returning, including our captains, CeCe O’Connor and Olivia Barletta, who are both juniors. There’s a lot of potential for us to work with.”
When Moran told her he wasn’t coming back, Coppinger knew she was on deck.
“When Gary reached out and told me he wasn’t going to continue, I was initially ready to take it over and do what I had to do,” she said. “Especially since the kids I coached when I started will be the kids I’m coaching now.”
The Big Blue are a few days into the season, and Coppinger said practices are “going well.”
“The kids are responding well to the drills the coaching staff and I mapped out,” Coppinger said. “We started to work on their fundamentals to get better.”
In addition to fundamentals, Coppinger believes situational play is important for any strong program.
“We’re working on situational awareness so everyone knows what to do and where to be at all times,” Coppinger said.
When asked to describe herself as a coach, Coppinger spoke about her “laid back” style.
“I’m big on positive reinforcement and putting in the work to figure out what needs to be worked on each day and adjusting my practice plan,” she said. “I want a team that respects each other and wants to come to practice – and be at practice together.”
When it comes to an alternative style of coaching – yelling and being in kids’ faces – it’s a no for her.
“Yelling in their face was an old way to coach. That’s how I learned, but I think kids are more receptive to constructive criticism and encouragement as opposed to coming at them directly,” Coppinger said.
As for some players who fans should be on the lookout for, a few came to mind.
“O’Connor, Barletta, and Lauryn Fahey will all be big for us,” she said. “Hayden Haskell will have to step up and do some pitching. Our number one pitcher (Mia Tringale) broke her ankle. We’re going to have multiple people having to play different positions to make up for the injury.”
It doesn’t stop with the high school level, however.
“We’re also going to try and be involved with the Little League to get numbers up. Unfortunately, right now, we don’t have enough numbers for a JV program,” she said. “Hopefully, with us being involved with Little League, we can grow those numbers and have a JV program in a few years.”
And if all goes to plan, student-athletes will have learned some things outside of the sport, too.
“I truly believe that coachable kids end up being good employees, and they prosper in the workforce,” Coppinger said. “When they get used to working as a team and dealing with different people, attitudes, and backgrounds, it teaches them to be better members of society.”
