Jamieson Helping To Lead Orange Towards The Top Of The BIG EAST
11/27/2007 3:46:17 PM | Softball
Katie Baran
For the second year, associate head coach Kyle Jamieson joins head coach Leigh Ross at the helm of the Syracuse softball team. With one season under their belts, already the duo is in the process of making Syracuse a force on the diamond in the BIG EAST.
In August of 2006 when Director of Athletics Dr. Daryl Gross appointed Ross the leader of the softball team, she brought Jamieson along for the ride. Jamieson served as an assistant coach for Ross at Bowling Green and when the tandem made the move to Syracuse, he was promoted to associate head coach.
“The title is a promotion from being just an assistant and shows that we want to remain as a staff together,” Jamieson said. “Some people believe we’re good staff because her strengths are my weaknesses and her weaknesses are my strengths. We just complement each other really well in that way.”
Prior to his arrival at Syracuse, Jamieson coached at the University of Toledo and University of Louisiana-Lafayette before spending time at Bowling Green. While with the Falcons, Jamieson was responsible for all facets of the program, primarily the pitching staff. The Falcon staff led the conference in ERA and placed three pitchers in the top seven in the category. Jamieson improved the team’s earned-run average from 2.32 to 1.60 in his first year and has been working to achieve similar results at SU.
“Personally, I want to get pitchers here at Syracuse leading the BIG EAST in ERA and just being a dominant pitching staff,” Jamieson said. “Syracuse has always hovered around fifth place and we want to start to climb the standings. Our goal is to win the BIG EAST.”
The team’s main obstacle is getting past DePaul, South Florida, Louisville and Notre Dame—all of which placed ahead of the Orange in the 2006 season. While the Orange battled injuries and a youthful squad last year, this year’s team looks to improve through the strengths of its pitchers.
“Our pitching staff last year was thrown into a loop with Erin Downey being medically disqualified,” Jamieson said. “Now we have three pitchers. We have more depth in the pitching circle and more depth at every position.”
Over the years, Jamieson and Ross have maintained a philosophy of having fun. While both enjoy playing the game, they also structure their practices to be both a learning and enjoyable experience for the team.
“I think we are flexible enough that most of our practices are fun and enjoyable, but when discipline is needed we know when to step in and create that,” Jamieson said.
When looking ahead to the 2008 season, Jamieson understands the importance of sticking to his original philosophy, as well as continuing to work hard.
“We have to prepare and plan our practices so that we’re getting better each time out,” Jamieson said. “This team has worked really hard since September and we are so impressed and proud of the attitude and work ethic that the student-athletes bring to practice every day.
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