Tricia Reingle-Savino could not be happier. She is the new head coach of the Howell High School softball team.
Coaching a team like the Rebels, the 2011 Central Jersey Group IV state sectional champions who have seven returning starters, is reason alone to be happy, but to the former St. John Vianney High School standout, that is secondary.
“I always wanted to be a high school coach,” she said. “There is nothing else I would rather be doing.”
Reingle-Savino coached Howell’s junior varsity softball team in 2011 and she did not expect to fulfill her dream this quickly. When the varsity position opened, she applied for the job figuring that, if nothing else, going though the interview process would be a good experience for the future.
Much to her delight, like she did throughout her high school and collegiate career, she hit it right out of the park and was hired during the winter.
Reingle-Savino took over a Howell team that is loaded with veterans and ready to win now. Although that might be a daunting task that brings a degree of added pressure and expectations, the Rebels’ coach and players are ready.
“The girls have been giving it their all,” she said. “They know what it takes to win. The goals are to win.”
Howell is off to an 8-2 start in the 2012 season.
As long as Reingle-Savino, who is a paraeducator at Howell, is in charge, winning will always be the goal.
At St. John Vianney in Holmdel, she forged a career that established her as one of the Shore Conference’s legendary softball players. With a career pitching record of 83-5 and 1,135 strikeouts, she led the Lancers to two NJSIAA Non-Public A state titles and to four consecutive Shore Conference Tournament championships.
During Reingle-Savino’s junior year, 2004, the Lancers had, perhaps, the finest season in conference history as they marched to the state championship without a loss (33-0) and were ranked No. 1 in New Jersey.
She went on to a fine career at St. Peter’s College in Jersey City, where she ranks in the top 10 all-time in most pitching categories (including No. 2 in lowest batting average against, .274).
She brings a wealth of experience and success to the Rebels’ program, where accessibility is one of her priorities.
“If the girls have a question, they know they can come to me,” the coach said.
There is an old saying that “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” Because of her familiarity with the players, Reingle-Savino is aware that they know how to win, and she is not going to make any radical changes.
She said although Howell has some power in the lineup, the team will not be beholden to waiting for a home run. The Rebels are a team that can win by playing small ball and they will use the bunt when the situation calls for that strategy.
Pitching, of course, is close to the coach’s heart, and in senior Carsin Connor she has a starter who pitched the Rebels into the 2011 Group IV state championship game.
“She has it all on the mound,” Reingle- Savino said of Connor. “She has a variety of pitches with movement.”
Defense is very important to the new coach as well, and the Rebels are set there, especially in the outfield, where potential extra-base hits fall into the glove of centerfielder Cassidy Brzozowski.
One area where Reingle-Savino has put her imprint on the Howell program is conditioning.
“We are building endurance,” she said.
That means running interval sprints and completing workouts in the gym. The Rebels have been doing more work off the diamond than before, so that they will be ready for the long grind a softball season can be for a team that expects to go far in the postseason.
One potential hurdle the Rebels will have to clear this spring is complacency. Just because they reached the Group IV state championship game in 2011 does not guarantee a return trip in 2012.
This is where Reingle-Savino can be of help to the Rebels. She knows from experience there is no margin for error.
“We had a perfect season my junior year at St. John Vianney (33-0) and with the same team the next year we were 26-4,” she said. “Nothing is assured.”