Valley News – Exuberant coach has Oxbow softball ahead

BRADFORD, Vt. — Chuck Simmons exploded from the white bucket he’d been sitting on at the entrance to the Oxbow High girls softball dugout Friday.

Taking a few steps toward the first base line, the fourth-year coach raised both hands above his head and let out a hoarse roar.

“I GOT ONE!”

Top-seeded Olympic had just recorded the first leg of a VPA Division III playoff quarterfinal against eighth-seeded White River Valley, but Simmons had been shut down for more than half an hour. He threw searing groundstrokes at his infielders and yelled in turn at the outfielders during pregame fielding practice, then led a high-decibel team cheer.

Oxbow led by two runs after one inning en route to a 15-0 final score and 46th straight victory. If you closed your eyes and listened, Simmons’ soundtrack would suggest he was coaching football.

He applauded pitcher Anastase Bourgeois, who tossed a six-hit, one-walk shutout. He yelled from the third base coach’s box as Faith Eastman sped by. He roared like a bull elk when an Olympian didn’t quite rush after hitting one alone.

Even the purple-clad fans packing the left-field line got a dose, urged by the bench boss to join him in vocal support. Not hard to do when your 17-0 team is a three-time state champion.

“I’ve coached football and I still don’t yell as much as he does during a game,” said White River Valley coach John Rhodes, a former Norwich University assistant whose team finished 7-10. “It’s intense and it prepares them.”

Simmons, who also coaches Oxbow boys soccer and JV boys basketball and drives the bus for most road games, has what he describes as a “paper-pushing” job at the Vermont Agency of Transportation’s White River Valley office during the day. Still, his inner fire comes out during practices and games, and he and his softball players say that’s part of their success.

“My catcher jumps off the ground with both feet when we (record) a strikeout,” Simmons said. “That’s what I want my girls to have every show.

“Some coaches say, ‘That guy is over the top,’ but kids play well when they feel good and they feel good when they know their coach is as excited to be here as anybody.”

The Olympians play with a steely kind of enthusiasm, throwing fundamental plays, running the bases with intelligent aggression, and hitting the ball with noises (POW! WHAM! SMACK!) that remind old-timers of those drawn to superhero comic books.

Anastase Bourgeois produced a double and a home run. Her sister Mazie had two hits, including a double, and each had two RBIs. Noemi Rose, Eastman and Abby Longto each hit a triple, with the latter compiling four RBIs.

Simmons said an opposing coach he’s friendly with tried earlier this season to even out the tussle. The effort lasted until the fifth inning, when his exhausted counterpart fell silent.

“Kids want to feel confident,” Simmons said. “They want to feel the intensity, so I always have to bring it. There are times when my wife, Sara, tells me to tone it down, but I am, and I’ve been this way since Little League.”

Anastase Bourgeois, a junior right-hander who hopes to follow her older sister, MJ, into college softball, said the positive nature of Simmons’ volume makes him a soundtrack Olympians yearn for.

“We love having his energy and without it, everything would be down and we’d make mistakes,” she said. “Getting him to talk out loud is better for us.”

Oxbow hosts BFA-Fairfax (10-6) in a semifinal on Tuesday. The teams did not meet in the regular season.

Second-seeded Bellows Falls and third-seeded Thetford meet in the group’s other semi-final. The Olympians didn’t play the Terriers in the regular season, but beat Thetford, 21-1, earlier this spring and defeated the Panthers during last season’s state title game.

Tris Wykes can be reached at [email protected].