Walking off the field with equipment in hand, softball coach Jen Deering wipes the sweat from her brow as she approaches me. Upon unlacing her previously clean, now dirtied, white cleats, she raises her head and announces she’s ready for the interview.

“This team is great,” Deering said. “I’m so grateful I have a group of athletes that can work extremely hard and have fun while doing it.”

Deering, a previous athletic trainer, did not want to end her softball career after graduating college, so she decided to take up coaching.

“I played softball in high school, and I wasn’t ready to give up the game,” Deering said.

Before beginning her current twelve-year coaching career, Deering had never worked with younger students before.

She had trained with athletes at the college level, but not in high schools. As of now, she leads the varsity softball team.

“Starting out I was quite nervous and unsure of if my methods were ‘right’,” Deering said. “But I’ve learned it just takes time to get into a groove which coach and their athletes need to find.”

Besides working as a coach, Deering played for team USA’s women’s tackle football team. In 2013 they traveled to Finland to compete with seven other international teams.

“It’s truly a brutal sport,” Deering said while showing off some battle scars. “You need to juggle a passion for sports and also deal with life.”

Having played for three years on team USA, Deering continued to play for the local bay area team until they moved too far for the commute to be worth it.

“I take coaching very seriously and hold a very high standard,” Deering said. “But I’m hoping I can make my team feel just as excited about coming out to practice as I was with tackle football.”

Sophomore Katy Savage  compliments Deering on her work as a coach, leader and friend to the students.

“I wasn’t sure about doing softball at first,” Savage said. “She really made going to practice a much more enjoyable experience than I thought it would be.”

Co-captain senior Claire O’Connor has played softball throughout her high school career and noticed Deering’s effect on the team right away.

“The team felt different in her presence,” O’Connor said. “She commands respect and hard work, but we don’t feel overly stressed.”

O’Connor believes Deering has made a huge impact on both the team and personally for herself.

“I’m incredibly glad to be working with her my final year,” O’Connor said. “She has put in so much work to the team and definitely taught me lessons I will never forget.”

Deering, equipment still in hand, gave me a quick smile as she glanced over to her athletes doing their final clean up.

“Sorry to cut you short but I still have work to do,” Deering said.

“Hey guys,” Deering said as she walked over to the locker, “I have the rest of the equipment, you can go now.”