Former St. Bernard's Coach Paves the Way for Visitation Softball Program

Dan Jameson, 57, is a right-handed pitcher who stepped off the mound and into the dugout in an effort to bond with his youngest daughter during her teen years.

“I wanted to spend more time with her, so I gave up a lot of my ball playing to be a volunteer coach for her Stillwater traveling program,” he said. “It all started from there.”

Now Jameson is a grandfather of three with two state titles under his belt—as head JV coach of the St. Bernard’s girls softball team in 2002 and as head varsity coach in 2004.

Jameson was one of many who mourned the St. Paul school’s 2010 closing, which left him searching for a job. Soon he was hired by  in Mendota Heights, which meant last spring he was coaching the girls who had been his rivals the previous year.

When he came on board there was a lot of work to be done, and the girls had to adjust to a new coaching style.

“At first they were a little apprehensive,” Jameson recalled. “I guess we’re a little rough around the edges.”

But it didn’t take the father of two daughters long to bond with the Vis girls. One day he instructed the seniors to pick up the pine cones that roll onto left field—only to discover all of them in his truck. “I said, ‘We gotta watch it—these girls are smarter than we are!’”

“It’s a good coach-athlete relationship,” said senior Sarah Leach, the team’s shortstop and captain. “He understands how girls work. He inspires us and you can tell he inspires the assistant coaches. He loves softball so much and you can tell.”

Jameson promised Visitation’s Athletic Director Mike Brill that he would work to build the entire softball program. Last winter he jumped into action by leading winter clinics twice a week for younger pitchers and catchers that don’t play high school sports. Visitation students as young as fifth grade joined him. This past winter he brought in outside coaches and extended the Wednesday clinics to all players and saw attendance double.

Batting practice employs a high-speed camera that allows the girls to watch their technique and break it down. “It’s a great training tool,” Jameson said. “The kids respond to it.”

With an uphill season ahead of them in 2011, the Blazers pulled off a 15-8 record in their large Tri Metro Conference, which includes tough competitors like Minnehaha Academy and St. Anthony. The Blazers made it to the section championship, losing to St. Paul Johnson in an extra inning. “We peaked when we needed to peak,” Jameson said.

New Season, Summer Training

The 2012 season began March 12, and he’s aiming higher this time. So are the girls. “I feel like this is going to be a fantastic season,” Leach said. “We only lost a couple seniors, and he’s been building up the program and making people want to play for us and giving us so many opportunities to get ready for the season.”

The ultimate goal, Jameson said, is a state title, and when he looks at the fifth- and sixth-grade girls, he’s filled with confidence. “There’s a mob of little girls that are throwing very hard and they’re working very hard to step in.”

Brill said he’s happy with what he sees. “Dan has a great philosophy of coaching and is very popular with the kids, as are his assistants.” Their efforts are not only building up the softball program but the entire school in a way that could boost enrollment, Brill added.

Jameson’s assistants include Bill Maleitzke, who is battling with cancer and recently started his treatment. The tight-knit team is rallying behind Maleitzke and made him a blanket as a token of their support.

Together, they’re looking ahead, which includes an exciting new development for the summer: Visitation’s first summer team, the Victorians, will play for Jameson in the Tri-County League at 16U, 14U and 12U. He’s a big proponent of summer softball, and when he became head coach last year Jameson was surprised to learn that less than 5 percent of the Vis girls played in the summer. “Those extra 30 or 40 games at a high level really increase their all-around skill level,” he said. He urged parents to sign their kids up somewhere last summer; this year they’ll be able to play together, which will make a huge difference—in skill set and in pine-cone pranks.

 “I want it to be fun,” Jameson said. “I don’t want it to be work.”

Editor's Note: This post was written by Mike Brill and Helen Wilkie of Visitation.