Rounding Third Softball

In the first edition of 2022, On Deck with Dobbins sits down with one of the up-and-coming young coaches in the country, Paige Knussman. The first head coach in Marymount University History, Knussman took on the herculean task of building a program in less than a year and during one of the most challenging times in history with the ongoing pandemic. A two-time All-American at Salisbury University, Knussman was hired by the Saints after spending time on the coaching staff at William Peace University since 2016. The Division III program in Arlington, VA opens their first season of competition February 26 against LaGrange College at the Grand Slam Tournament in Raleigh, NC.

Lee Dobbins: You are in a unique position of not only starting a program from scratch building it from the ground up, but doing it in one of the most challenging times in our history with the ongoing pandemic. How was that process and talk about the challenges and how you went about doing that?

Paige Knussman: A once in a lifetime experience for sure. In some ways I do think COVID helped me as there were a lot of talented athletes who hadn’t had the opportunity to be recruited due to the shutdowns throughout the country. There were also several travel ball events going on throughout the spring that would have never occurred in a normal spring because of the irregularities with high school sports. One of the major challenges outside of COVID was of course the time crunch– being hired at the end of January gave me about 6 months to really hit the recruiting trails, and I relied on a lot of friends (including our coaching staff) to help spread the word about the addition of softball at Marymount.

Dobbins: Recruiting is always evolving and maybe not always for the positive as of late with showcase softball, recruiting services, and the challenges the pandemic have brought. Where do you think recruiting is now compared to say when you competed and started coaching? What are the challenges you have seen and the success you have attained?

Knussman: Information is so much more accessible now compared to the early 2010s. I graduated in 2012 and I remember being at the tail end of physical letters being sent out from college coaches. I wish services like FieldLevel (which I used a ton this past spring, and have at least 2 girls on my current roster from connections via the platform) had existed during my playing years–It’s set up for easy access and coaches can search for specific needs. More personal relationships are formed and I prefer that when determining who to focus on for incoming classes.

With social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, and services with streaming capabilities like Facebook and AthletesGoLive, reps are always just a tap away. In some ways it’s great because I can see videos without having to sort through tons of emails, but I also get tagged in videos from athletes that I’ve literally never heard of. For me personally, I’d rather get the introductory email first, form a connection, then start firing videos my way. It helps reinforce what I already liked or maybe am searching for improvement on.

In the future, I’d like to see showcase/tournament ball take a break some weekends in the summer since the season is stretching out so much throughout the rest of the year. Maybe have tournaments twice a month and let players attend college camps on the other weekends, or have a down weekend to be a normal teenager, spend time with family, work a job, etc. I know the recruiting calendars for various divisions can limit this somewhat, but we are really doing a disservice to the next generation of athletes and have a high likelihood of burnout with the pace they are keeping.

Dobbins: Following up on the recruiting question; Where do you believe the newest innovation of the Transfer Portal fits in for Division III? Are you using that as an advantage with your program, or are you staying the course of recruiting high school/club age Prospective Student-Athletes and JUCO Athletes?

Knussman: The transfer portal is tough for D3; without scholarship money to entice athletes, we really have to look for specific fits. I did explore a couple options this fall through the portal and didn’t have a lot of luck, so we shall see what happens in the future in that respect. We’ll continue recruiting the incoming freshmen that our coaching staff build connections with and if transfers/JUCO players pop up on our radar through friends and colleagues, then we’ll explore them too.

Dobbins: Talk about the challenges of the Division III model. With DIII not offering any sort of athletically related aid, there always seems to be a stigma about it with PSAs, their parents, coaches, and advocates. To the educated, DIII is obviously a great destination with some of the best educational institutes in the country. How do you overcome this “stigma”?

Knussman: I hope this answer is paid attention to the most: I never thought I’d end up in D3, and yet here I am 10 years later. The stigma is slowly fading with more visibility and success from coaches and programs across the country. I think it really stems from the fact that many athletes want the notoriety of committing to the “big schools”, especially for social media purposes, but I also think many don’t take the time to research on their own the value that each institution provides.

During my collegiate career, I was a two-time All American and had the pleasure of competing with my teammates for 3 National Championships, finishing 3rd twice and National Runner Up in 2014– these are experiences I probably never would have had at the D1 level. More importantly, I had a lot of success in the classroom– I finished with a 3.4 GPA and I was a two time Academic All-American. It’s something I’m very proud of and a major reason why I was admitted into graduate school, and helped me jump start my coaching career as a graduate assistant coach.

Additionally, I was able to be a normal student– I got to work an on-campus job which built my resume and helped defray the costs that weren’t provided by an athletic scholarship (and my expenses were cheaper than some of my friends that did receive athletic scholarships). I made friends outside of athletics, volunteered around campus with various events, and even went home to see family at times.

If there are any athletes reading this– I urge you to evaluate the school for the resources, location, coach/program, but most importantly, how it can help you in your professional life after graduation. Division III is the largest division within the NCAA (over 400 softball programs in the country), so most athletes that do get the opportunity to represent an institution at the collegiate level will be competing within Division III.

Dobbins: Looking at your staff roster you have six assistant coaches. That is highly irregular for any program especially those at DIII that sometimes struggle to have one. Talk a little bit about your assistant coaches. How did the size of your coaching staff come about?

Knussman: God blessed me. Honestly. Billy Wilkens and Leigh Winstead have been my rocks this year, and both wanted to be a part of building a new program. Leigh was in a position within her family to get back into coaching regularly, and Billy was ready to take his softball abilities to the next level. They bring years of experience over me, so I’m looking forward to continuing to grow with both of them beside me. They will take on the majority of the outfield responsibilities for practices and games.

Dori Loukopoulos played for one of our former conference opponents and worked her butt off to be admitted into Marymount’s physical therapy program before we had even announced the addition of the softball team. She was named our conference’s Pitcher of the Year at the end of the 2021 season (and was a pretty great hitter also). I have learned so much from her already and I’m looking forward to working with her over the next 3 seasons.

Shannon Brogan had a stellar career at Moravian, another D3 powerhouse, and coached travel ball back home in her summers away from college. She reached out to me about coming on staff while in grad school at Marymount so another piece of the puzzle just fell in my lap. I’m excited to have her working with our middle infield and bring an inside scoop on many of our northern competitors.

Amelia Trotter and Becca Hoey are two of my best friends and former college teammates. I trust them and after knowing both for so long, it’s easy to work together. We use a lot of the same terminology after playing for the same college coach, which also helps. Becca will help cover the catchers, and Amelia was a utility player in college, so wherever we need her that day, I know she can handle the instruction. After playing with her for a year, I was able to coach her for three years and watched her develop into an outstanding leader; she held her teammates to a high standard and set the bar with her work ethic every day, so I’m excited to see that side of her play out on the field more now as a coach.

I’m very fortunate to have people that care supporting not only me, but our players too. I don’t know how I would have done it without each of them this past year.

Dobbins: As a former student-athlete and one of the young up-and-upcoming coaches, talk a little bit about your path on you landing your first collegiate head coaching position. Who are some of the mentors and peers that have helped you along the way and get to Marymount?

Knussman: Way back in the day, I played for a prolific travel organization in Maryland for a coach that was truly the best. Thad Toal gave me the chance I needed to grow from average to elite, and I know is a key reason I am where I am today. He always used to tell the team he was training us to be coaches one day, and not just athletes, and I think back on those days frequently. He has since retired from coaching, but he and the rest of the Severna Park Hornets staff really prepared me for the next phase of life.

In college, I had the pleasure of playing for Margie Knight, D3 legend and former Salisbury University Head Coach. I also got to coach with and learn from her for 3 seasons. She is the reason I started coaching– She is a phenomenal coach, her practice planning skills are amazing, and her wealth of knowledge is endless. Dr. Stitcher, her longtime assistant coach, was also an integral part of the early part of my coaching path and always provided another opinion on tough topics, as well as lending an ear when needed.

After leaving Salisbury, Charlie Dobbins, former King and His Court member and current William Peace University Head Coach, gave me an opportunity to come on his staff and let me run wild with ideas. Peace is where I really got hands-on experience when it came to recruiting, practice planning and in-game experience. Unfortunately, the 2020 season was canceled due to the pandemic, so I never had a true season at Peace, but I know Charlie and the players are a big reason why I was able to move on to Marymount.

My dad, while not a college coach, is a huge reason too. He taught me to be confident, independent, and fearless, and now as a coach, those are life skills that are invaluable.

RTS will start the 2022 season onsite in Clearwater, Florida tomorrow as 27 Junior College teams take the field in the Sunshine State. Follow RTS here, on Twitter, and Instagram throughout the weekend for live updates and game results from the legendary Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex.

Adidas JUCO Kickoff Tournament Participating Teams:

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (GA)

College of Central Florida (FL)

Daytona State College (FL)

East Georgia State College I (GA)

East Georgia State College II (GA)

Eastern Florida State College (FL)

Florida Southwestern State College (FL)

Georgia Highlands College (GA)

Georgia Military College (GA)

Gulf Coast State College (FL)

Hillsborough Community College (FL)

Indian River State College (FL)

Lake-Sumter State College (FL)

Marshalltown Community College (IA)

Miami Dade College (FL)

Northwest Florida State College (FL)

Parkland College (IL)

Pasco-Hernando State College (FL)

Pensacola State College (FL)

Polk State College (FL)

Santa Fe College (FL)

Seminole State College (FL)

South Georgia State College (GA)

St Johns River State College (FL)

St Petersburg College (FL)

State College of Florida-Manatee/Sarasota (FL)

Univ of SC Union (SC)

Rank	School (First Place Votes)	Points	Final 2021 Record	Final 2021 Ranking
1	Oklahoma (32)	800	56-4	1
2	Alabama	758	52-9	3
3	UCLA	700	47-7	5
4	Florida State	696	49-13-1	2
5	Oklahoma State	680	48-12	6
6	Florida	601	45-11	9
7	Washington	571	45-14	10
8	Arkansas	515	43-11	11
9	Arizona	499	41-15	7
10	Texas	491	43-14	12
11	Missouri	421	42-17	13
12	Georgia	416	34-23	8
13	Virginia Tech	385	37-15	14
14	LSU	361	35-22	15
15	Clemson	346	44-8	18
16	Michigan	321	38-8	19
17	JMU	286	41-4	4
18	Oregon	282	40-17	17
19	Kentucky	278	43-16	16
20	Duke	275	44-12	20
21	Arizona State	185	33-16	21
22	Tennessee	178	42-15	23
23	Louisiana	128	47-12	22
24	Liberty	62	44-15	25
25	Wichita State	59	41-13-1	24

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RTS Starts 2022 Season at JUCO Kickoff in Clearwater