Was Highwood resident Piper Mead, a 2000 graduate of Buffalo Grove, surprised that her former teammate Kate Stake was named Valparaiso’s new softball coach on July 23?
“Not one bit,” Mead said. “Her leadership skills were tremendous even in high school.”
For Stake, 31, it’s a chance to return to the Midwest after stops as a college assistant at Army and most recently Hofstra. She began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois. Her parents still are Buffalo Grove residents.
“I’ve always wanted to get back toward home and the people and culture of the Midwest,” Stake said. “What drew me to Valparaiso is the balance between academics and athletics.”
Stake won’t meet with the full team until the first day of school, but she has had the chance to communicate with each player by phone or text.
“Their energy and attitude has me even more excited,” Stake said. “I emphasized to all of them that I don’t coach softball players as much as people who play softball. We’ll work hard to run an organized defense and make all the secondary plays.”
Stake has been a softball sponge her entire career. She got a late start to competitive softball, but it was for a good reason: She played baseball on boys teams through eighth grade.
“I don’t think I would be where I am today had I not played baseball,” Stake said. “[Youth] softball has come a long way since then, but I was able to get the whole exposure to competitive baseball and learn the game better.”
When she arrived at Buffalo Grove, she earned the starting position at second base and was a fixture there for the next four years. For three of those years, her double-play partner was Lindsey Hamma, who went on to star for Illinois and now coaches the Hoffman Estates softball team.
“When she came in as a freshman she showed that she belonged right away,” Hamma said. “She was an incredibly hard worker and would do anything for the team.”
After high school, Stake played softball at Illinois State for Melinda Fischer, a member of the National Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Stake was a four-year starter and a second-team All-America pick in her senior season.
“Melinda is my standard when I make decisions for myself,” Stake said. “I ask myself what she would do. She thought I was a much better player than I did and that made me a better player. She continues to be my first phone call when I need something, even today.”
Stake’s three years at Army were a time of success on the field and brought a chance to learn from people in leadership positions.
“I had the chance to work with three-star generals and people in Delta Forces and special operations,” she said. “I learned a lot about [leadership] that I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else. It definitely made me a better person and I have so much respect for our service men and women.”
At Hofstra, she had the chance to work under Bill Edwards, another NFCA Hall of Famer.
“She’s spent a lot of time preparing for this and she is ready to become a head coach,” Edwards said in a news release. “Valpo is getting a real top-notch coach.”
