King to coach Lady Raiders’ softball
By BILL CAIN, The Leader-HeraldArticle Photos
JOHNSTOWN - Fulton-Montgomery Community College will welcome yet another new coach when the spring season opens.
Former Mayfield Central School softball coach Doug King accepted the job, making it official after the summer recreation season where he coached former and future Mayfield players.
FMCC athletic director Kevin Jones said King is no new face around the FMCC softball scene. He said King's daughter Marcy was a student and softball player with the Lady Raiders' team that went to the national tournament. King also has shared his enthusiasm for local college softball with his players at Mayfield.
"Doug's been a huge supporter of FM," Jones said. "He brings his girls down to see our softball games. With his connection to the local softball community and his being very knowledgeable about the game, I'm really excited that he'll bring some consistency to the program."
The program had Pete Radik at the helm for about 10 years, Jones said. After his departure, Steve Lawrence coached for one year, as did Jones.
King was one of three applicants for the job, Jones said, and his familiarity with the game, as well as high school coaches and athletes in Section II and beyond, made him the ideal candidate.
"I think it's going to help us out tremendously," Jones said. "It's incredibly important to have someone who is rooted in the community and very experienced. The biggest thing I think will be helpful to us is that he's so connected to the other high school coaches."
For the 2009 season, King will have a couple familiar faces on the squad. Returning from last year are former Mayfield Lady Panthers Natalie Geier and Nicole Geier. Natalie Geier has experience as a catcher and infielder and Nicole Geier was King's second baseman and team "spark plug."
Incoming freshmen include Ashley Gallt and JaeDee Lavada. Gallt was one of King's top hitters and Lavada was his ace pitcher who recorded more than 500 career strikeouts.
The timing for landing a coach like King, who Jones said he anticipates will stick around a while, couldn't be better. The Lady Raiders will play on a new field behind FMCC in the spring after playing on recreational fields in Amsterdam last season while the field was under construction. Along with other facilities improvements, Jones said he believes the potential for the program to bring in more and higher-caliber athletes is high.
In the meantime, some of the Lady Raiders softball players are playing other sports. If King follows the same model as his coaching career with Mayfield, he is still keeping tabs on them and enjoying their successes on other fields.
Softball, however, is likely foremost on his mind.
"During the interview, he mentioned to us that he spent his own money to go watch all the sectional games," Jones said. "For a guy to take a vacation and go watch all that softball, that makes me excited to know he's going to be around talking to people and bringing kids in."
