Jeff Balon used to be the win-at-all-costs guy, but his time spent on the North Muskegon coaching staff helping shepherd teams his daughter Madison played on changed his perspective. Now his focus is on developing players and hoping they find enjoyment from their sport. He'll bring that attitude to Montague softball this spring after taking over as varsity coach following Randy Mikkelsen's departure to be Zeeland West's coach after last year's 8-20 campaign.
"I was the 'Let's go out and win every game' coach for a long time, and things have changed," Balon said. "I tell the girls to give me all they've got at the end of the game, and that's all I ask of them. If we lose, we build on errors and mistakes we made and go out for the next game."
Balon was JV coach last spring, so many of the Wildcats on the roster will be players he coached in 2025. There's some experience on the team as well, with six seniors, including returning starters Reagan Cederquist, Gentry Knop, Addison Hall and Shoshi Fouser. However, the other six of the 12 players that start the season on the varsity are stepping into bigger roles, including two freshmen - Olivia McKeown and Kaelyn Lohman. McKeown was forced into the circle in the team's season opener because Cederquist, the regular pitcher, was unavailable due to a health issue.
It may not be easy at first - the Wildcats took a pair of shutout defeats to Kent City in that opening doubleheader - but Balon believes the team will improve throughout the season.
"At this point, in one way or another, all 12 of the girls have a key place on the team," Balon said. "Definitely my six seniors are going to be a huge asset. I see them playing a lot. I know a couple of the seniors who didn't play a whole lot last year and who have worked in the offseason and definitely improved. I feel in my heart that we've got something good started."
A focus on fundamentals underlines the Wildcats' approach to the season. Balon said the first half hour or so of each practice is devoted to those fundamentals so they become second nature to the team.
"I've done that with every team I've coached and it seems to get benefits by the end of the season," Balon said. "I've got a great group of committed girls and that's what we're working toward, is getting better at the little things."
Those little things, Balon said, were the team's struggle point against Kent City. He said it seemed as though the Wildcats were trying to make a second move before completing the first - a reasonable issue to have given the team had only been able to practice outdoors three times prior to game action. Slowing the game down is a big part of the reason for the fundamental focus he plans to bring to the team.
"There's a process in hitting, throwing, catching, and so on," Balon said. "We have to fill out that process."
Montague has a challenging West Michigan Conference Lakes to navigate, including powerhouse Oakridge and a rising Whitehall team to play in the teams' annual rivalry showdown. Outside of the conference, matchups with Brethren, Shelby and Mason County Central will keep the team sharp and offer opportunities to improve.
The Wildcats' focus is on setting a base that hopefully will lead to success later in the season and beyond.
"I hope we go out there, wrangle up a couple W's and work to build trust, respect and good sportsmanship," Balon said. "And keep your grades up."
