HOLMDEL – Kim Lombardi is a Jersey Shore softball lifer.
Prior to she was the extremely thriving head mentor at St. John Vianney, she was a dominant pitcher and a 2000 graduate at Pink Bank Catholic and ultimately Monmouth University. Couple of men and women have contributed much more wins to Shore teams than Lombardi has.
On Wednesday morning, Lombardi strike a main milestone.
With a 19- victory towards Neptune on a chilly, blustery morning, Lombardi gained the 400th victory of her job.
With the earn, Lombardi improved her occupation history to 400-46-1 with a impressive 89.5 successful percentage. She is 2nd between active Shore Conference coaches, trailing Debbie Schwartz, who has won 688 game titles amongst tenures at Toms River East and Donovan Catholic.
Finest of 7 days 3: Leading Shore Convention players from final week
“There’s very little greater than the Shore Meeting,” Lombardi mentioned. “I was fortunate sufficient to be a portion of the Pink Bank Catholic Caseys, which I definitely liked my high faculty job. To be ready to do it now as a Lancer and keep on success at the Shore, it’s wonderful. I like it.
“It’s a great milestone. I come to feel I function the children extremely tough and when you see the figures like that, it shows the determination I put in as a mentor.”
Lombardi’s profession at the Shore
Lombardi was hired before the 2005 season when she was 23, succeeding Aado Kommendant. In 17 many years at the helm, Lombardi has led the Lancers to four point out championships, 5 sectional titles and seven Shore Meeting Event crowns, which includes a few in a row to get started her occupation.
In superior school, Lombardi was a single of the most dominant pitchers in the state. She set Shore Conference records with 83 profession wins and 21 shutouts. Her .531 batting typical and 149 whole hits were also school records.
In 2000, Lombardi led Red Lender Catholic to a Shore Conference Event title, and she gained a state title with the Caseys as a freshman in 1997.
Throughout her virtually two-ten years extended coaching vocation, she’s mentored some of the best gamers in point out historical past.
“The girls I’ve coached in the previous and in the present now, I’m extremely proud of all of them and their accomplishments,” Lombardi stated. “I’m happy of this team of young children that want to engage in for me. I’ve seriously been definitely pleased with all the teams I have coached.”
A fierce competitor as both of those a participant and a mentor, Lombardi is a challenging leader who needs really hard do the job from her talented gamers. It is a design which is retained St. John Vianney amongst the elite teams in the condition.
“Softball is a large passion for me and if I can portray that to the women and they obtain in and feed off me, that’s normally when we have our productive decades,” Lombardi stated. “This yr, the kids have bought in. They want to be all-group and for every single other.”
While St. John Vianney has been a perennial contender less than Lombardi, final year was a bit of an id disaster for the mentor. The Lancers went 13-9 final spring, a respectable complete for most groups in the state, but 1 that come to feel brief of St. John Vianney’s lofty expectations.
Lombardi regarded stepping away and questioned if the video game has surpassed her. She promptly understood her passion for the sport stays red-warm, and she’s led the Lancers to a promising 6-1 get started this calendar year.
“Last calendar year was a letdown for me as a coach,” Lombardi reported. “I was thinking, ‘wow, is it time for me to give up coaching? Perhaps I never have it anymore.’ Looking at this calendar year, I know I have the enthusiasm 100%. I enjoy the youngsters I. coach, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve all completed.”
Danny LoGiudice has covered local athletics across New Jersey due to the fact 2014. Speak to him at [email protected] or @danny_logiudice on Twitter.
