Preseason practices recently began for University of Hawai‘i softball team. For head coach Bob Coolen, his 34th and final season at the helm is set to begin on Feb. 6 against Santa Clara at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
With some of the nerves Coolen has been feeling recently, Year 34 as UH's head coach may as well be his first.
"I was anxiously awaiting that first day, and had all kinds of reservations and butterflies. I'm like, this is like my 36th year here, 34th as head coach, and I felt like it was my first day meeting the team, and so I was a little anxious having an expiration date on myself," Coolen says. "It's just something that is inevitable. I've been doing all of the paperwork to retire, so it is kind of a reality in my mind now."
Coolen's collegiate coaching career started as the head coach at Bentley University in 1984. Prior to the 1990 season, he left his native Massachusetts to join the staff at Hawai‘i, becoming the head coach by 1992.
Coolen, who turned 67 last Friday, has spent more than half his life in the Islands. It's where he met his wife, Nanci, and raised his two children, Bo and Demi. He has no plans to leave Hawai‘i permanently following the season.
"My wife and I are planning our evolution, as she calls it. We're evolving into retirement. We're not retiring, we're evolving. That's what she always tells me now," Coolen said. "She's retiring with me, and I'm excited about that, but I'm really excited about the season. We've had some good scrimmages. We have some good pitching. I have a whole new infield thanks to the (transfer) portal, and we've had some upperclassmen step up, and we've been hitting the ball, pitching well and playing well."
Coolen's run at UH thus far includes a record of 1,110-715-1 with 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, including the program's lone Women's College World Series appearance in 2010. The Rainbow Wahine haven't reached the NCAA Tournament since 2013, but Coolen's thinks the teams chances of getting there have increased with the advent of the Big West Conference Tournament from May 7-10 in Fullerton, Calif.
Before this season, the conference's automatic NCAA Tournament bid went to the regular season conference champion. In 2025, the top six teams in the conference standings will battle for a spot.
"Everyone's going to be fighting for those six slots, and it's not going to be easy," Coolen said. "Anything can happen in the tournament. ... We want to be playing that last week before NCAA selections, and get the automatic bid."
On the field, the Rainbow Wahine return ace pitcher Addison Kostrencich, who went 12-11 in her first year with UH after transferring in from Long Beach State. Coolen noted a pitcher of Kostrencich's caliber is more likely to level up in the transfer portal rather than return to a mid-major school like Hawai‘i for another year. Kostrencich, a senior, is heading into her final season of college softball.
"We definitely want to make sure that his last year is the best one yet. We've all talked about that, and I think Bob's just really on board with making it fun, making it a good way to go out," Kostrencich said. "This year in the Big West, it's a little different with the tournament at the end of the year, and that's something that Bob has fought for. I think he's really excited for that to be on his way out. That's really our goal for the year: To make it to that tournament and do as best as we can in it.
"The sentiment is genuine, with it being his kind of last dance, but I'm sure the coaching or the approach doesn't change when it comes to getting prepared for this season."
Echoing that sentiment was senior catcher Izabella Martinez, who like Kostrencich, hopes to send Coolen off a winner.
"Coach Bob is the same coach Bob that we all know," Martinez said, "but I think this year, if anything, he may be just a little bit more relaxed and looking forward to his next coming years. But I definitely do see the same coach that I've had since my freshman year coming out here and pushing us and motivating us and trying to get us better."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
