New Glenwood softball coach will pull rare double-duty
New Glenwood softball coach Thomas Horton is the current head softball coach at Bellevue East High School in Nebraska.
Current being the operative word – Horton will pull a rare double-duty as head coach. The Rams’ third head coach in as many seasons will coach Glenwood in the summer and remain as the Chieftain’s head coach in the Nebraska fall varsity season.
“I’ll coach Glenwood over here in the summer and then Bellevue East in the fall,” said, Horton who is replacing one-year head coach Mark Starner.
Horton is not aware of any high school softball head coaches in Nebraska also head coaching an Iowa high school team.
“It’ll be a challenge running two programs, being in Iowa in season (in the summer) working hard and then over at Bellevue East they’ll be running through their strength and conditioning gearing up for the season in August,” Horton said. “It’ll be a busy summer but like I tell my kids all the time, ‘Any day on the dirt is better than any other day.’ One way or another, I’m going to be on a softball field this summer.”
Horton has headed the Chieftain program the last five seasons, earning Metro Softball Coach Association Coach of the Year honors in 2013 and compiling a record of 42-92. His team has improved their record every year since he took over.
A University of New Mexico graduate, Horton comes to Glenwood with vast coaching experience in high school and at the Division I level. Horton was the pitching coach at his alma mater before going on to coach the outfield and handle recruiting at Wichita State University. Prior to accepting the Bellevue East job, Horton served as athletic director at Rio Rancho (New Mexico) High School. In two years as Rio Rancho’s athletic director, the school’s athletic teams won 27 district championships and eight state championships.
The Glenwood opening was an opportunity that presented itself this spring and, after some research, proved too good to pass up.
“I was contacted by the administration and I came over to check it out, the facilities, the school and the tradition and it looked like a great opportunity to compete at a good level,” Horton said.
Horton met with his returning players a few weeks ago and will be hosting a third through eighth grade youth softball camp May 9. Horton hasn’t had a chance to see his team in action but he has seen his team hit in their Sunday afternoon batting practice sessions. He likes what he’s seen so far.
“There are some big strong kids,” Horton said. “I’m looking forward to putting up some big numbers. I know this is a smaller community so there are a lot of multi-sport athletes that are all very good. I’m looking forward to working with multi-faceted athletes that brings a lot of tools to the softball field.”
The Rams return four of their top five hitters from last year’s 22-11 squad.
Glenwood opens the season May 26 hosting Tri-Center.
“I’m pretty excited,” Horton said. “It’s always a race to get everything in before that first game. One of the things I’m learning about Iowa is I’ll be sharing some athletes with track and soccer, so that’s a challenge, but I think we’ll be ready. These girls have some tools and they’ve had success in the past and they know what they can do.”