After four years of Dani Asquini leading the charge for the Neuqua Valley softball team, the Wildcats are handing the lineup card to a pair of familiar faces. Former assistant coaches Jamine Turner and Sam Rochowicz will step up to the plate this season as co-head coaches for the blue and gold. This story is sponsored by Fair Oaks Ford and Fair Oaks Lincoln.
“This has always been a dream of mine to coach softball somewhere. I’ve had a passion for softball for years. I’ve played for years, and my sisters played for a couple of years. So just having the opportunity to, like, step into this head coaching role has been nothing short of amazing,” said Rochowicz.
“I come with a lot of coaching experience. I coached head coach baseball in Georgia for eight years before I moved here, and just had the opportunity to come in and get into the groove of coaching softball with the girls’ program,” said Jamine Turner.
Making the job a double deal wasn’t the original plan.
“When people applied for the job, we felt like they weren’t a good fit. So Sam and I came together, we talked to the athletic director and decided to do it as a co-head coaching situation this year,” said Turner.
Sam Rochowicz and Jamine form a double play duo in the dugout
And the two were game to split the top spot.
“Coach Turner and I have a good relationship. We bounce ideas off each other all the time. I think he’s calm to my little craziness sometimes. He definitely helps bring a level head to the game, so it’s nice to have somebody to talk to about things, especially stepping into the head coach role so early,” said Sam Rochowicz.
Both Rochowicz and Turner spent time working on Asquini’s staff and are hoping to build off her guidance as they transition into season one.
“Dani did a good job when she was here. We are trying to keep that tradition going by building the program because this year we had a situation where we only have one team, but hopefully next year we have a lot of incoming freshmen that we can continue to build a program,” said Turner.
“I was texting her a lot before our first game. Just asking her, like, questions about how things run like, what do I do for this and that? She’s been very caring about it and very understanding. I know that I bother her a lot and say, ” Hey, I’m so sorry,” and she’s like, ” No, no worries at all.” Stepping into that role is obviously a huge shift, so having her to go to has been very nice, very comforting,” said Rochowicz.
Having two familiar coaches overseeing the team feels like a win for the players.
“It’s definitely a lot of fun to see them both play a bigger role. It’s nice to have Coach T back with varsity this year and to see him and Coach R work together. It’s pretty cool to see them have the flow of things. I think it’s cool to have two brains working together,” said Nalia Clifford.
“They really push us every day to be our best, and that’s something really special. They want what’s best for us, and they want us to win and do great on and off the field,” said Savannah Charlton
Full confidence in season one from the players and the staff
Already a month into the season, Rochowicz and Turner are confident they can keep the ship steady and plan to trust the process.
“Just being more competitive and pushing our girls to do the best that they can, and like, pushing the extra base, pitch, and run. We’re getting our girls more involved and, like defensively putting pressure on people offensively, putting pressure on so that is our one goal and one thing that we want to really hone in on,” said Rochowicz.
“We just got to come prepared and ready to play because practice makes perfect. So we’ll continue to be on the field, continue to do what we do and come on and win some ball games,” said Turner.
