LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) is honored to announce member coaches Bradley Kimbrough, Lisa S. Olsen and Taylor Cournoyer are the 2015 recipients of the Mary Nutter Scholarship.
The educational grant, named for the former Pittsburg State (Kan.) head coach and 1997 NFCA Hall of Fame inductee who founded National Sports Clinics, seeks to continue Nutter’s effort to provide softball coaches at all levels access to the best minds in the sport to help them become better coaches themselves. Recipients receive funding to attend the NFCA National Convention, where they can improve their skills at educational seminars and through interaction with their fellow convention attendees. This year’s convention is Dec. 2-5 in Atlanta, Ga.
Kimbrough, head coach at Sheffield High School in Sheffield, Ala. since 2011, wants to continue his growth as a softball coach and has a strong desire to complete the NFCA Coaches College program.
“I took over a program which was neglected for over 10 years,” said Kimbrough. “I have poured my heart and soul in to the program and the kids, to which the result has been steady improvement & improved participation. However, the low socio-demographics of our community make fundraising difficult for an expensive sport.”
“Since many of our players are below the poverty line, many times fees, travel, meals and miscellaneous items come out of my own pocket,” he said. “Thus, this has been an expense that I cannot manage over the last four years. My desire to complete the Coaches College would take money from my own children since often times, “extra’ money is used for our players and/or facilities.”
“Let me be clear; my wife and I consider coaching to be a “calling” and are happy to do what we can to help less fortunate kids in our community.”
Bishop Blanchet High School (Seattle, Wash.) head coach Lisa Olsen has coached softball for over 20 years and never been able to attend an NFCA convention. Because of the cost range due to travel and it not being directly related to core curriculum development, her athletic department is unable to budget for these items. With her high school program facing a lack of participation, she sees convention as an opportunity to promote the sport of softball.
“I would value the opportunity to improve my game from some of the best minds in softball,” said Olsen. “My passion and love of the game is equally matched by the satisfaction I get from learning as much as I can about coaching. I look forward to this opportunity to collaborate with coaches from around the country.”
Cournoyer is a young assistant coach at Division III Amherst College, who head coach Jessica Johnson said has set her sights on making coaching softball her life’s work and attending the 201 convention is something she obsesses about. Unfortunately, Cournoyer is part-time and the salary she receives goes directly towards her graduate studies to obtain a Masters in Coaching.
“To say that coaching fastpitch is Taylor’s passion would be an understatement,” said Johnson. “She approaches coaching with an unbridled fervor that I have never encountered.”
“A true whirlwind of contagious fastpitch passion, Taylor is deserving of the Mary Nutter Scholarship and would utilize and appreciate it to the absolute fullest extent.”
Nutter, who died suddenly in July 2012 while vacationing in Colorado, compiled a 204-125 record over eight years at Pittsburg State, which was an NAIA school at the time. She got her start in coaching with three years as a graduate assistant at Michigan State, after seven years as a teacher in nearby Elsie, Mich.
In 1981, Nutter won the first of three NAIA District 10 titles and the first of her three District 10 Coach of the Year honors (1981, 1982, 1985). That 1981 squad finished fourth at the NAIA national championship and she served as an assistant coach for the 1983 Pan American Tri-Nationals team and was a member of the 1984 U.S. Pan American selection committee. Nutter was an 1988 inductee into the NAIA Hall of Fame.
As a player, Nutter was a two-time first-team All-American (1974-75) for the Lansing Laurels, an ASA Women’s Major fastpitch team and spent 1976 as player-coach for the Michigan Travelers of the Women’s Professional Softball League.