Player Turned Coach Michelle Gascoigne

The player turned coach of the day is Michelle Gascoigne. A star pitcher at the University of Oklahoma, Gascoigne is currently the pitching coach with Northwestern University.

Michelle had an outstanding career at Oklahoma. She was 49-7 record with a 1.65 ERA and 507 strikeouts in 378.0 innings pitched. She held opponents to a measly .189 batting average.

Upon leaving Oklahoma, Michelle played professional softball with the National Pro Fastpitch Chicago Bandits in 2013. An All-NPF selection in 2013 and 2014, Michelle helped lead the Bandits to two Cowles Cup titles in 2015 and 2016.

Starting her coaching journey while still playing pro ball, Michelle was a grad assistant at Oklahoma in 2014 and 2015. Michelle joined the Northwestern staff in 2016 and has been there since. He husband Tony Smith is also on the staff.

I get to see Michelle and the Wildcats several times every season. While they usually play in Evanston, about 15 minutes away, this season, they will play in Rosemont, just a bit farther in the other direction. Still, I will see the team several times as usual.

Like the others I have featured in this series, Michelle has always been great to me. I have interviewed her several times, but even in simple chats around the stadium, she is always gracious and great to see. The same can be said for Coach Tony, too!

For more info on Coach Michelle and the Wildcats, go to nusports.com. This concludes my player turned coach series...for now.

Michele Gascoigne and me in Evanston, IL-Spring 2017.

Player Turned Coach Alisa Goler

Next in my series of players I knew who are now coaches is Alisa Goler. A star player at Georgia and in the pros, Alisa is now Head Coach at Western Illinois University.

A three-time All-American at Georgia, Goler set school single-season records for batting average (.455), slugging percentage (.994), on-base percentage (.551), home runs (24), extra-base hits (41), RBI (83), and total bases (164). Her Georgia teams also had Kristyn Sandberg and Megan Wiggins. All three would later play together for the National Pro Fastpitch Chicago Bandits.

Goler was drafted by the Bandits in 2011 and was Rookie of the Year. She played seven years of pro softball and twice earned All-NPF Team honors.

Her coaching career began as hitting instructor at Roosevelt University in 2014. After stints at Syracuse and Penn State, Goler was named the fourth Head Coach for WIU after the 2020 season.

I don't get to see many WIU games, as it is about four hours away, but I usually see Coach Goler at the Dome Tourney in Rosemont to start the season. Such was the case in 2021, when masks were still required because of the pandemic.

For more info on Coach Goler and the WIU team, go to goleathernecks.com. Check here for a few more player turned coach pieces..  

Alisa Goler and me in Rosemont, IL-February 2021. 

Celebrity Jersey Cards #789 Fritz Coleman & Fred Roggin

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series in which I create virtual trading cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Today, on MLB Opening Day, I start my season-long alphabetical journey through all Major League Baseball teams.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Fritz Coleman spent almost 40 years at KNBC in Los Angeles. A weatherman, disc jockey, comedian and more, he was a staple in the Los Angeles media. He originally left the east coast to be a standup comic in Los Angeles. His career was no joke however. It landed him on a Celebrity Jersey Card. For more info, check fritzcolemancomedy.com.  

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Fred Roggin had newscasting stints in a few cities, before settling in Los Angeles in 1980. He stayed in L.A. through January 2023. He continues to do radio and television in his Palm Springs home area. In 1993 he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He also landed on a Celebrity Jersey Card. I assume the number four jersey he's wearing is for one of his stations, but it was most notably worn by former outfielder Jimmy Piersall and former second baseman Bobby Grich.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #788: Piper Gilles & Mark Sutcliffe

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series in which I create digital cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Today, I feature the last two Canadian teams in my first series of Celebrity Jersey Cards for the Professional Women's Hockey League.

Representing the Toronto Sceptres is Rockford, Illinois native Piper Gilles. Learning to skate as a toddler, Gilles competed in ice dancing for Team Canada in three Winter Olympics, including this year. Gilles and her partner Paul Poirier took the bronze in the recent Olympics. Prior to that, she repped the Toronto Sceptres to earn her Celebrity Jersey Card, which is almost as cool as a bronze medal.

Ottawa Mayor was happy to wear an Ottawa Charge sweater as he took part in a street naming ceremony for the team. Elected Mayor in 2022, Sutcliffe previously worked in radio, including being the first play-by-play announcer for the Ottawa Lynx baseball team. The street became Charge Avenue and Sutcliffe became a member of the Celebrity Jersey Card Club.

Friend Encounters: Jeff Burroughs and Dennis

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring my friends meeting celebrities.

My convention buddy Dennis has me on this one. How did he meet former MLB player Jeff Burroughs? He never even played for the Milwaukee Brewers,

Dennis meets a lot of celebrities and athletes. Usually, the athletes have a Wisconsin connection. As much as I envy him for many of those, I also understand he meets most in Wisconsin, too far for me to go for one athlete. Burroughs though has no such connection to the Badger state.

This one is especially painful, because it happened in Rosemont, just west of me. Easing the pain a bit is the fact I was out of town. At least I did not miss it. I just couldn't be there.

Burroughs was one of my favorites growing up. He won the MVP as a glasses-wearing outfielder. He was an excellent player for a lot of years. His son eventually played in the majors, too, but without much success. Sean died tragically at 43.

I'll let go of this one with Dennis. I just hope he doesn;t have many more that I could not get. There's only so much disappointment I can take.

Jeff Burroughs and Dennis in Rosemont, IL-March 2025.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #787: Kevin Lankinen & Lane Hutson

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series in which I create digital cards for celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Previously, I featured the American teams of the Professional Women's Hockey League. Today, I show two of the Canadian teams.

Repping the Vancouver Goldeneyes is goalie Kevin Lankinen. Borbn in Finland, Lankinen played for the Finland national team, other pro international teams, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators, before joining the Vancouver Canucks. Lankinen showed his support for the women's hockey team in Vancouver to get his Celebrity Jersey Card.

Wearing the sweater of the Montreal Victoire is Montreal Canadiens Lane Hutson. Born in Michigan, Hutson represented the United States national team, before being drafted by the Canadiens. Hutson won the Calder Memorial Trophy (the NHL's Rookie of the Year) in 2025. Hutson supported his Montreal hockey counterparts to earn his Celebrity Jersey Card.

Cards That Never Were Mike Corkins Topps 1975

Cards That Never Were is a recurring series in which I create virtual trading cards for players missed in various sets. It is a concept I borrow from far too many to list, but I appreciate all of their efforts.

Pitcher Mike Corkins was signed by the San Francisco Giants prior to the 1965 season. Still in the minors, he was drafted by the San Diego Padres from the Giants in the 1968 expansion draft. After making his MLB debut in 1969, he split time between the minors and the Padres through the 1974 season. Although his MLB career was over, he spent one more season in the California Angels minor league system. All told, he went 15-28 with 9 saves and a 4.39 ERA.

For his efforts, Topps gave Corkins cards from 1970-'74, leaving only a career capper, which once again was created by Gio of When Topps Had Baseballs before I could make it. Gio is the master!

Player Turned Coach Coach Abby Ramirez

Chicago native Abby Ramirez starred at shortstop for the University of Michigan. Among her highlights with the Wolverines, she was named to the 2015 NCAA All-Tournament Team after the Wolverines finished runner-up at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

Abby went on to play two seasons with the National Pro Fastpitch Chicago Bandits and three seasons with Athletes Unlimited..With all those teams, Rosemont was home and local gal Abby was a definite fan favorite.

Her coaching career started as a grad assistant with Northwestern. Abby joined DePaul as an interim assistant coach in 2021. Abby brings a wealth of experience for such a young coach. 

I had the pleasure of interviewing Abby several times. Those interviews can be found on the Chicago Bandits playlist on the Johngy's Beat YouTube channel.

Abby remains one of my favorites. No matter how busy she is, she always makes time for a chat or quick picture. It's been a lot of fun watching her career develop.

For more info on Abby and DePaul, go to depaulbluedemons.com. Also, check back here for my recurring NCAA softball coverage.

Abby Ramirez and me in Rosemont, IL-February 2023.

Player Turned Coach Kristen Butler

This is another in a short series about my former pro softball players I know who have become coaches.

Kristen Butler was a four-year starter for the University of Florida from 2003-06. Mostly a catcher, she was the 2006 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year. She still holds season records for most runners picked off (8) and runners caught stealing (22), and the career record for most runners caught stealing (61).

Kristen started her pro career with the Akron Racers of National Pro Fastpitch. She was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2008. She also played for Denso in Japan, where she was the first player to hit three home runs in a game. After joining the Chicago Bandits, she helped them to the 2015 NPF title, where she 

broke the league's all-time records in both home runs and RBIs. 

Kristen retired after the 2015 season, but had already started her coaching career as an assistant with Florida in 2007. After a couple other assistant coaching stints, she was named Head Coach at Toledo in 2015.After the 2018 season she took the helm at Rutgers.

I was a bit surprised when I saw her at Northwestern in 2019, five years after I had last seen her, she remembered me right away. I probably shouldn't have been surprise, because she was always very kind to the Johngy's Beat team when we were at the ballpark. My interviews with Kristen are in the Chicago Bandits playlist in the right column.

For more info on Kristen and the Scarlet Knights, go to scarletknights.com. Check back here for a few more in this series.

 

Kristen Butler and me in Evanston, IL-Spring 2019.

Player Turned Coach Kirsten Verdun

With collegiate softball season underway, I am highlighting a few women coaches I have known for years.

Kirsten Verdun was a star pitcher for the DePaul Blue Demons. A two-time All-American (2012 and 2014), she helped DePaul to two NCAA regional final appearances and was named the 2014 Big East Pitcher of the Year.

Upon leaving DePaul, she drafted by the Chicago Bandits of the now-defunct National Pro Fastpitch. She played two seasons, the second of which saw the Bandits win the championship.

She entered the coaching ranks as a grad assistant at Louisville in 2014. After two seasons there, she went to Wisconsin, where she stayed for eight seasons before joining the Illini.

As an assistant with Illinois, she works mainly with pitchers. The staff's ERS dropped half a run from her first to her second season.

Kirsten was always great to me during her time with the Bandits. My interviews with her are on the Chicago Bandits playlist in the right column.

She even indulged me every time I remind her she struck me out in a charity game. I did work it to a 1-2 count, before whiffing for the third time. She claims it was about a 45 mph pitch. I say it was closer to 70 mph (or at least it looked like it was 70 mph). Actually it doesn't really matter. She probably could have thrown 30 mph and still got me. I wear it proudly as a badge though. It was one of many highlights from my time covering the Bandits.

.For more info on Kirsten and the Illini, go to fightingillini.com. If you see her, give her my best and tell her I am still whining about the strike out. Stay tuned for a few more of my favorite players-turned-coaches.

Danielle Zymkowitz, Kirsten Verdun and me in Evanston, IL-Spring 2019.