Carrie Kosderka-Farrell is still getting used to the “new adventure” of coaching high school sports.
When the chance to be Columbia River’s head softball coach opened up, she said no at first.
She eventually accepted the job, and it didn’t take long before she realized she ultimately made the right decision.
She met the team, “and that was that,” she said.
Now in a spot that even she may have not expected to be in two years ago, Kosderka-Farrell is determined to carry on what prior coach Mindy Williams-Cleeland started, and compete in what looks to be a competitive 2A Greater St. Helens League.
First, she’s having to adjust to an entirely new level of coaching.
After coaching in college for 15 years — first at the high-major Division I level, then in NAIA — she went from constantly having to sell her program to recruits, to now getting her girls connected with colleges.
And in a game like Monday, when Columbia River (3-0) beat Mountain View 7-4 in a nonleague matchup at the Vancouver Girls Softball Association complex, Kosderka-Farrell saw plenty to boast about.
The Chieftains hopped up to a 4-0 lead after its first three batters walked, then the fourth — catcher Cassie Baldino — saw her hit dropped by a fielder.
Mountain View strung together three consecutive runs at the end of the third inning to cut River’s lead to two.
That’s when Andrea Hoey came in to close.
She struck out seven batters in 4 1/3 innings while giving up no walks and one hit.
And when junior Lily Frankie rounded the bases after sending a home run over the left-center field fence to push River’s lead to 7-4 in the fourth, she was met at third base with a two-handed high five by her first-year head coach.
Ask Kosderka-Farrell to gush about the talent on her roster, and she’ll happily oblige.
Take Franks, for example. The emerging hitter is “built like my slappers and runs really well,” Kosderka-Farrell said. “She’s definitely going onto the next level for sure.”
Beyond individual talent, she’s struck by the Chieftains’ maturity.
“They’re amazingly responsible, they’re very driven, they adjust so much better than kids I’ve coached in the past, which is really fun, and they just own their stuff,” Kosderka-Farrell said.
“Half the time I’m like, ‘why am I here? You guys coach yourselves.’ ”
Kosderka-Farrell spent three years as an assistant coach at the University of Utah, where she attended as an undergrad and played softball.
She then got the head coaching job at Concordia in Portland, where she coached for 13 years.
She took a season off after leaving Concordia when she changed jobs and thought she was done with coaching.
A year later, she’s leading the charge as River vies to compete for the top spot against a strong Ridgefield team that returns every contributor from last year’s team.
River, which shared the 2A GSHL title last season with Ridgefield, replaced three key contributors from that team.
Kosderka-Farrell is well aware of the talent across the league.
“That was the first thing out of Cassie Baldino’s mouth. ‘This is the warmup. We’re going to see the big dogs,’ ” Kosderka-Farrell said.
“Ironically they’re all in 2A. Who would have know that all these big dogs are rolling in 2A? The kids are ready for (it).”
