Switching up Softball: Coach Mallory Dittemore takes over as new head softball coach and hopes to promote stability and accountability

Last spring, business teacher and former pole vault coach Mallory Dittemore watched her athletes fly 10 feet in the air relying solely on a thin pole to land them on the mat — something that she felt unqualified for. 

Meanwhile, former athletic director Debbie Katzfey knew this coaching position wasn’t the right fit for Dittemore. When Katzfey asked Dittemore if she’d want to take over as the new softball coach after the old coach was fired, Dittemore promptly said yes.

Trading in poles for bats, Dittemore entered the season ready to improve the team’s 1-13 record. But her main focus was on building a program with accountability and consistency, something not present in past seasons.

Dittemore played competitive softball from the beginning of middle school through her senior year, stopping in college to run track at Rockhurst University. She has taken a lot of inspiration from her high school coach on how she wants to run her team — with passion and stability. 

“We had a great coach that [knew] the game, but he was really good at building a rapport with us and cultivating a positive team atmosphere,” Dittemore said. “He definitely knows his stuff [as] we were one win away from a state championship.”

After learning that the previous coach wouldn’t plan practice in advance from physical education and assistant coach Maggie Archer, Dittemore has put together a structured practice schedule. Along with an organized routine, Dittemore has placed a focus on mechanics, especially the fundamentals of hitting and baserunning.

“[Practice used to] always be a curveball at them everyday and [they] would show up everyday and do whatever,” Dittemore said. “The girls [now] know the set routine of what we are going to do [for two hours].”

Dittemore acknowledges that the team lacked accountability in previous years and hopes to change this. There weren’t punishments for missing practice, being late to practice, not working hard and being bad teammates. 

“Some girls thought practice was optional [last year] and they [only] showed up when they wanted to,” varsity sophomore Brianna Boileau said. “This year, she puts more pressure on us — you have to talk to [the] coach [if you miss practices].”

Besides accountability and stability, Dittemore hopes to improve team and coach chemistry. She organizes team meetings, dinners and brunches, fundraising and media day along with social events with just the coaches.

“We [take] pictures and even though I don’t know where they go, [media day helps us bond]” senior Paige Keedy said. “We connect with the coaches by laughing while doing something [I’ve never done before].” 

And her methods are working — players are already beginning to buy into the program. Although the season is just starting, the morale is much better with players focusing on practice instead of “lollygagging”, according to Keedy. With stronger emphasis on the little things such as soft toss and machine hitting, there has already been improvement.

“[Last year], it was very slow watching the improvement, but this year it’s speeding up,” Boileau said. “Last year we never had a good practice, but this year it’s getting us excited to see what we can do in a game.”

Throughout this season and next, Dittemore hopes to build East softball into more of a “brand.” She hopes to use a strong social media presence through her account, @coach-ditty to get the word out about game times as well as organizing camps for younger kids over the summer.

“We aren’t a big softball school and where I come from softball was a pretty big deal,” Dittemore said. “Consistency is key. We will start with this group and get word out about teen summer camps and we can build our program from there.”