Lending A Helping Hand
By Aaron Yost - Corvallis Gazette-Times
ADAIR VILLAGE — Monica Hoffman sits on an overturned bucket, her clear blue eyes hidden behind a pair of wrap-around sunglasses.
With a diligence born of years playing the game, she keeps track of events on Santiam Christian High’s softball field.
This is one part of her role as an Eagles assistant coach.
A little while later, with pitcher Katie Elwer facing a jam, Hoffman goes to the circle to share some advice and bring the focus back to the next pitch.
“She just has a new perspective on things,” long-time SC coach Bill Ford says of Hoffman, who is in her first year helping out the Eagles. “And it’s fun just to listen to her.”
A three-time Pacific-10 Conference honorable mention selection at Oregon State, Hoffman left the Beavers with four no-hitters and second on the career-wins list with 75. Her name is scattered throughout the Beavers’ top-10 lists.
She tries to share the knowledge gained in four years at Oregon State with the SC players, but in particular with Elwer and the other pitchers.
“My pitches are working a lot better,” Elwer said. “She’s really helped us to focus on everything and to stay focused on every play.”
Right after graduating from OSU, Hoffman didn’t expect to go into coaching.
She gave pitching lessons, but coaching, even as an assistant, was something she did not believe she had time for with her work situation. Hoffman was hired by Kwaplah, International, a firm that works to help developing nations emerge on an economic basis.
And she didn’t really know much about SC.
But families at her church, Grace Christian Fellowship, knew plenty about Santiam Christian. She learned from them, and she learned of the opportunity to help Ford in much the same manner.
Her employer has been very flexible with her schedule, allowing her to make practices and games.
“It’s a lot different than I thought it would be,” Hoffman said. “It has been much more of a learning experience for me. I thought I’d just go out to the park, throw some pitches to the girls and that it would be easy to go out and win games.
“But it’s hard work. It’s just like college.”
And with her Pacific-10 experience, Hoffman brings that college mentality to the Eagles.
Her approach in many ways is an outgrowth of her own high school experience and the adjustment she had to make after arriving at OSU.
Elwer is a prime example of how Hoffman approaches coaching.
“She’s helped Katie. Bunches,” Ford said.
“I work a lot with her on her confidence,” Hoffman said. “Not that she’s not a confident pitcher, but she’s not very confident vocally. I work with her mentally. She already had the skills ... but as far as the mental side of the game, I don’t think that’s taught enough in high school.”
Many of the girls on the team were already familiar to Hoffman from church, but getting to know everyone on the team and how they fit together has been an evolution for the players and Hoffman.
“Now that we’re halfway through the season, I know everyone’s personality and what they bring to the team, how to approach them and encourage them and what they need to motivate them,” she said. “And I think they feel comfortable coming to me now for advice.”
Ford calls Hoffman “a blessing.”
“She just loves the game and the girls pick up on that,” Ford said. “And to have someone working with the pitchers, which I know very little about, it’s been incredible to have her come.”
