Centerburg’s appearance in the 2022 Division III District softball final was the first in school history for the Trojans. Even though the result — a 5-1 loss to Cardington-Lincoln — was not what was hoped for by Centerburg's head softball coach Tim Rioux, playing in the game set a standard for the future.
“I don't know exactly when the softball program started at Centerburg, though I know the only conference title the program has won was in 1991,” Rioux said. “I also know the program has had many outstanding individuals and players through the years. We made it to the District Finals last year for the first time in school history, and would like to repeat that accomplishment and win it this year.”
Last season’s 17-9 and 6-6 KMAC records included tournament wins against Elgin and Fairbanks, as well as a third-place finish in the conference. The team’s performance was fueled by seniors Chloe Goulter, Kaitlyn Tenzos and Allie Beekman. Goulter will continue playing softball at the University of Northwest Ohio.
“We are counting on all the players in our program to work hard, support each other and accept their roles, that includes coaches and all of our parents to be supportive,” Rioux said. “We do not hand out individual awards at the end of the season, such as MVP. All of the players are valuable in our program, no more than anyone else, and are critical to our success.”
A strong work ethic on the field and in the classroom — the team proudly boasts a combined GPA of around 3.4 — drives the success of the program.
“We have improved in every facet of the game since 2017 and that is a direct result of our players' work ethic,” Rioux said.
He said the team needs to continue developing its pitching depth and work with the youth program to keep girls interested in playing softball.
“We graduated three seniors who provided us with key leadership, so we need our kids to step up and show leadership qualities,” Rioux said. “We also need our kids to prove that they put the team first instead of any individual mindset.”
Rioux played baseball growing up in Columbus and started coaching 12U baseball in Texas. He began coaching high school softball in 2009 at Big Walnut as a varsity assistant and took the head coaching job at Centerburg in 2017.
“My coaching philosophy is geared toward teaching, learning, fundamental repetition, having fun, organization, accountability and ownership,” Rioux said.
He said he likes to reiterate to his team that no one is perfect.
“One thing I talk about every year is that I will make mistakes, our coaches will make mistakes and so will our players and umpires — No one is perfect,” Rioux said. “I think John Wooden was one of the greatest coaches ever, in any sport, and I have tried to implement many of his teachings to softball. I also think it's important for coaches to be creative and to use their individual personal strengths as a guide to developing their own coaching philosophies.”
Rioux has coached about a dozen players who have gone on to play at the next level, from Division I to NAIA schools.
“The percentage of high school athletes that go on to play in college is very small in any high school sport,” Rioux said. “We currently have several girls that may play in college. It'll depend on if they want to play, how hard they work to get there and where they want to go to school.”
The Trojans don’t rely on mottos or slogans for motivation, they hold each other accountable by setting and meeting high expectations.
“We want our student-athletes to have a great experience playing softball at Centerburg and we want them to be productive citizens once they graduate from high school,” Rioux said.
Centerburg has started the season by winning their first four games and were 2-0 in KMAC games as we went to press.
