Spring Break
The Daily OrangeSoftball | Girls club: Syracuse softball coach Mary Jo Firnbach joins her counterparts on recruiting trips
By Kelvin Ang
Posted: 5/10/06, 7:48 PM EST Section: Sports
"I try to make the most of my time and try to watch two or three games at once," Firnbach said. "I'm by myself and you know, they come out and just sit out there and try to make conversation, 'Why are you sitting out here by yourself?' Well, I'm trying to make the most of my time. It's not to be anti-social, just to get more done."
Firnbach started off at Michigan with recruiting assignments primarily at small local tournaments, where she didn't have to watch too many players at once.
Her responsibilities ballooned when she accepted the position of assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Illinois State in 1996. She then had to travel to larger tournaments with more than a hundred teams playing in each one, an adjustment that didn't come easily to her.
"If anybody says they've never felt overwhelmed, they would be lying," Firnbach said. "It's very easy to get into the situation where you have everything lined up, then all of a sudden, this field gets backed up because this game goes into extra innings, or something happens where the person you're supposed to watch wasn't playing or pitching that game, so you have to come back and see them later. You have to revamp your entire schedule as each hour goes, basically."
Still, Firnbach doesn't mind the hard work. The most trying part of being at the fields is not being able to stop and chat with the friends she hasn't seen for months. They usually share rental cars and arrive at the fields together, knowing they probably won't get to speak again until they have dinner more than 14 hours later.
"A lot of times, I have a break at 1 o'clock, don't have a lot of student-athletes to watch at that time," Firnbach said. "They may be watching like, four different games, so it's very difficult to match up. We joke a lot in passing and we're like, maybe see you in an hour, type of thing. You've got to stay on the move."
After tournaments end though, Firnbach and her friends sometimes reward themselves by staying a day longer to sightsee or just relax.
Firnbach started off at Michigan with recruiting assignments primarily at small local tournaments, where she didn't have to watch too many players at once.
Her responsibilities ballooned when she accepted the position of assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Illinois State in 1996. She then had to travel to larger tournaments with more than a hundred teams playing in each one, an adjustment that didn't come easily to her.
"If anybody says they've never felt overwhelmed, they would be lying," Firnbach said. "It's very easy to get into the situation where you have everything lined up, then all of a sudden, this field gets backed up because this game goes into extra innings, or something happens where the person you're supposed to watch wasn't playing or pitching that game, so you have to come back and see them later. You have to revamp your entire schedule as each hour goes, basically."
Still, Firnbach doesn't mind the hard work. The most trying part of being at the fields is not being able to stop and chat with the friends she hasn't seen for months. They usually share rental cars and arrive at the fields together, knowing they probably won't get to speak again until they have dinner more than 14 hours later.
"A lot of times, I have a break at 1 o'clock, don't have a lot of student-athletes to watch at that time," Firnbach said. "They may be watching like, four different games, so it's very difficult to match up. We joke a lot in passing and we're like, maybe see you in an hour, type of thing. You've got to stay on the move."
After tournaments end though, Firnbach and her friends sometimes reward themselves by staying a day longer to sightsee or just relax.
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