LA CENTER — Seemingly every member of the La Center softball team has a personal connection to coach Randy Martinez.
Senior Sadie Schmidt and freshman Aimee England, for instance, both have older siblings who played on softball teams coached by Martinez.
Senior Billie Ross represents a third generation in her family being on the same La Center team with Martinez. Her father and grandfather coached football with him.
All that is to say, when Martinez returned for his second stint as La Center’s head coach this season, there was no one better suited to lead the Wildcats softball team. He’s worked with this current group of players since 2023 as a volunteer assistant in the program, and wanted to see them through to the end of their high school careers.
“Seeing him come back, I think it brought the whole team together, genuinely, because we all really love him as a coach,” Schmidt said. “… I think everyone was excited and motivated to work really hard this year.”
This spring also coincided with another move for Martinez when the La Center football team announced in March he would be retiring as an assistant coach, a position he held for 26 years with the program under head coach John Lambert.
“Words can’t adequately express the gratitude I have for what he has done for the youth of La Center,” Lambert wrote on the team’s Facebook page. “The relationships and connections that Randy made will always be part of this town.”
Martinez said he’d been mulling retiring for a few years in order to free up more time to spend with family in the summer and fall, but acknowledged it was a difficult decision.
“This year when I finally told (John) for sure, I remember his first reaction was like, ‘I thought you’d go one more year,’ ” Martinez said with a laugh. “But I felt confident that he’s going to be handling a lot of the line now. … He was a lineman, he’s good at it, probably better than I am at coaching it. That was pretty easy once I knew he was taking that over.
“I’ll come to the games, probably hit the sidelines, things like that. But yeah, I’m gonna miss it, especially the kids that I’ve coached for the last few years.”
Recognizing when it’s the right time to leave a program is something coaches often grapple with. Two years after La Center won the Class 1A state championship, Martinez’s departure as the Wildcats’ coach following the 2018 season was actually a pretty easy choice because it allowed him to coach his twin granddaughters in ASA softball.
Still, he remained connected to the program. After watching a game three years ago, he approached then-coach Amanda Teel and shared some observations he felt could improve the team. Teel later asked Martinez to join the team for winter workouts, which led to him coaching as a volunteer assistant during the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
That familiarity between Martinez and players made for a seamless transition when the position opened and he was officially hired as head coach in December.
“It’s intense (and) a lot of fun,” Martinez said. “I just enjoy softball a lot. These girls I’ve coached the last few years, I wanted to make sure I got through their senior year, and then keep going.”
The Wildcats have only played three games this season entering spring break, splitting games against Trico League opponents Seton Catholic and King’s Way Christian, but spirits are high among players who praise Martinez’s positive approach to teaching during games and practices.
“If you do bad, you mess up, you strike out, he’s always there to pick you up,” said junior Lauren Baker, who’s committed to Wagner College in New York. “He’s always giving you a helpful note on how to fix it, how to get better. So, he’s all about positivity and not getting down on yourself.”
“He makes practices fun, but also functional,” Schmidt added. “They’re also just so entertaining. We laugh, we also get jobs done — there’s times for seriousness and there’s times for locking in — and we have a perfect balance of both, I feel like.”
Another piece Martinez brings to the team, according to Ross, is his eye-catching wardrobe choices.
“He wears really funny socks every day,” the senior pitcher and infielder said. “It really keeps us on our toes and gives us a good chuckle.”
Martinez also wears his 2016 La Center state championship ring on his right hand, a reminder of a special team that went 27-0 en route to capturing the 1A title over Montesano.
Playoff runs like 2016 and 2017, the program’s most recent trip to state, are a rewarding part of the game. Ultimately, however, they’re a small part of the overall impact Martinez strives to make as a coach in his players’ lives.
“Your coaching goals should be, I want to make these girls better women, so when they grow up they have better attitudes, views of life, maybe they’ll learn some life lessons here. And, by doing that, they’ll improve in softball,” he said.
“It’s all about seeing how they develop as people, and ballplayers usually fall right behind that.”
From the earliest stages of their high school careers to now, La Center players are grateful Martinez has been there to help them grow.
“He’s just an awesome coach,” Baker said, “and I’m really glad he came back to help our team, because I don’t know what we would’ve done if we didn’t have him.”
