As Ducks Flourish, Familiar Faces Crop Up In Opposing Dugouts
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Jobs don't get much more secure than the one Damian Williams had before coming to Oregon.
In 16 years as head coach at Willamette University, Williams led the Bearcats to a Northwest Conference winning percentage of .581. They won 20 games six straight seasons between 2005 and 2010, and were ranked as high as No. 5 in the West Region of NCAA Division-III that last year.
This spring, Williams left all of that behind — to work for free. He took a sabbatical to work as a volunteer assistant coach at Oregon, which on Tuesday reached No. 1 in the country for the second straight spring.
Whether he returns to Willamette, hangs on long enough to become a full-time assistant at Oregon or moves on elsewhere, Williams couldn't pass up the chance to work for the Ducks and head coach Mike White, whose profile nationally is skyrocketing thanks to five NCAA Super Regional appearances — and two trips to the Women's College Worlds Series — in five years.
"All of his coaches go on," Williams said Sunday, after the Ducks run-ruled a ranked Washington team for the second time in three days. "Seeing that he develops coaches, not just players, it's something I wanted."
Williams hopes to become the latest in a string of UO assistants who moved on to bigger jobs elsewhere. In the opposing dugout for the Huskies this past weekend was the man who preceded Williams as a volunteer assistant at Oregon, first-year UW pitching coach Mike Roberts. And three former assistants of White's are head coaches elsewhere — Jessica Allister of Minnesota, Lisa Dodd of UNLV and Blake Miller of Virginia.
Second-year UO hitting coach Jimmy Kolaitis came all the way to Eugene from South Alabama, passing up offers for assistant positions and even head jobs elsewhere to work for the Ducks, he said. "More than anything, the chance to work for Mike White was something I couldn't pass up," Kolaitis said. "When it comes to pitching, there's no bigger name in the game of softball.
"I knew the game; I know the game; I understand the game. I feel like I'm a pretty good coach. But Coach White takes it to a different level."
Williams sits next to White for games, taking in the UO head coach's thought process pitch by pitch. Williams said White's ability to scout opposing hitters and call pitches to attack them is something he hopes to take with him to his next job.
Kolaitis is struck by White's attention to detail. "It may be as simple as faking a bunt, just to see how the defense reacts," Kolaitis said. "And then he can put a play on to take advantage of that, whether it's a fake steal, hit and run, whatever it may be."
Roberts moved on to UW as pitching coach after essentially filling that role with the Ducks on an unpaid basis last spring. White and Roberts played against each other in New Zealand, and when Roberts became interested in college coaching, he left his job as a carpenter in Wisconsin — and his family — to work for free at Oregon.
The level of autonomy White provides helps his assistants develop, they said, and Roberts was no exception. "I just kind of left him alone," White said. "That's the way I am. I'm not a micro-manager. And I think the volunteers like that. They can get in there and do it themselves."
Roberts said he applied tweaks to his pitching program at White's suggestion. "I can't say how much I appreciate the opportunity Oregon gave me," Roberts said Sunday before departing Howe Field for the trip back to Seattle.
With Roberts representing yet another White assistant to catch on elsewhere, might a "Mike White coaching tree" be about to blossom? "I think the branches already are starting to spread," Kolaitis said.
It won't be long before programs start calling about the current UO assistants. Last season Kolaitis helped the Ducks set school records for batting average and home runs; on Sunday, Oregon equalled an NCAA record with five home runs in one inning, on the way to eight in the game.
Kolaitis said his focus remains in Eugene, working for White. "As a coach, in the back of your mind you're always thinking about your next move," he said. "But for me right now, I'm having a blast going what I'm doing."
Williams, too, seems in no hurry to see his time with the Ducks come to a close. "As long as I'm learning and growing," he said, "I'm happy."
