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Coach
Dan Harrison
The
Buccaneer Softball Coaching Staff
Coach
Dan Harrison is in his second season as head coach for the
DCC Fast Pitch Softball progam. Dan had been with the program
for the five previous years as an assistant coach. His speciality
is the infield and he focuses upon the development of quick,
errorless infield play through the proper implementation
of throwing, fielding, ball transfer, and footwork skills.
DCC
has been Nationally ranked for the past seven years placing
fourth at the NJCAA Junior College World Series at Horseheads
New York in 2005. Dan is determined to continue that winning
tradition and has confidence his team will continue to
excel.
Assistant
Coach Dean Svenvold has been with the program nine years.
He is the pitching coach, and believes strongly in the
perfection of fundamental mechanics as a means to success.
He is also an expert in training and conditioning, and
heads up the Buccaneers conditioning and weights program.
DCC
Philosophy of Softball and Coaching
The philosophy of the Dawson Community College softball program is two fold.
First, is my philosophy of coaching. I am a firm believer in fundamentals.
If the fundamentals are there, the rest of the skills will come more easily.
Evaluating technique and analyzing what a player is doing wrong has been an
asset that I feel I posses. Criticism should be positive with encouragement
along the way.
The players
should try to do the best they can by giving 100% during
practice and games. The athletes are expected to play with
intensity and determination while being ladies both on
and off the field. Winning graciously and losing with dignity
are important with positive attitudes to be displayed at
all times. The athletes are expected to dress themselves
accordingly. I do not tolerate swearing and because for
the emphasis on drug abuse, smoking and drinking on road
trips is absolutely out of the question. The rules are
outlined in the first meeting at the start of the season.
The student-athletes
should feel free to talk to me on just about anything and
I hope to keep open communication with them. There should
be mutual respect for each other, but with understanding
that as the coach, the final decisions are mine to make.
We are working with the individual in athletics. When my
players get finished competing on the college level, they
are not seeking a professional career in this sport, so
they are able to use those skills to help them get a job,
coach a team, or teach their own children someday. They
should be able to do this with a strong background in fundamentals.
Working together as a TEAM, WE can do whatever WE believe
WE can do.
The second
part of my philosophy is the type of young lady that I
will recruit for our program. This individual player MUST
be willing to do what is BEST for the TEAM, not herself.
This is the hardest character to judge with a player during
the recruiting process. As individuals during the recruiting
process, we all say the things that we think everyone wants
to hear, but when it comes to reality, it is amazing how
things change from when we recruited the young lady. Statistics
indicate that eighty percent of players that played a certain
position in high school will not play that position in
college and player have to be willing to make that sacrifice.
Players
must also be able to accept what their role is on the team.
This can include anything from the primary pinch-runner
to the late inning pinch hitter. Teams are successful when
everyone knows what their role is, and accepts that role.
Being a TEAM member is a privilege and each player should
enjoy the fact that she is a member of the team.
At DCC
we try to mix speed with power. We also try to find players
that are “athletic and versatile”. I like to
have players that can play more than one position. Assembling
a TEAM at this level, especially when you have success
like we have had, is like a assembling a giant jigsaw puzzle.
Sometimes you think you have the right pieces of the puzzle,
but it comes up a little short. You have to keep mixing
and matching until you find the right pieces that fit.
Without the right mentality of each player, the puzzle
will never be completed.
The final
excerpt that I would like to discuss about my philosophy
is to expand on my role as the head coach. First, I do
not like the term coach. I am a teacher of the game of
softball and I am no different than the math teacher, the
English professor, the physics teacher or anyone else.
My job is to teach the game of softball the way I think
it should be taught in my classroom which happens to be
the softball field. My coaching staff and I teach the players
the fundamentals in practice. During performance (game
time), you hope that you have taught your class (the team)
enough about the game that you can go out and be successful
on the field. The coaches can feel good that they (the
players) understand what you taught them in practice and
were able to carry that to a game situation.
To learn
more about Dawson's Softball Program, contact Coach Harrison.
You can reach him at (406) 377-9460, email him at harrison@dawson.edu
or complete a Prospective Player Questionnaire online at
www.dawson.edu. He'd love to hear from you soon!

Assistant Coach Dean Svenvold |
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For more information contact: Coach
Dan Harrison
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