High school softball: New North Ridgeville coach Amy McMillan excited for chance to keep program rolling

Amy McMillan was a part of the North Ridgeville softball team last spring that won the school's first district championship since 2003. Now she'll have an even bigger role in helping the Rangers try to go back to regionals in 2022. McMillan was recently named North Ridgeville's head coach, replacing Mike Mease, who resigned after last season to accept a coaching position at Lourdes University, outside of Toledo. McMillan was an assistant coach under Mease the past eight years. "I'm excited," McMillan said. "It's one of those things where Mike and I had been together coaching for eight years and when he decided to go the college route, I decided it was time to throw my name in the ring. "I didn't want to be anywhere else. I love the North Ridgeville community and everything it brings with it." McMillan, a 2000 Elyria High graduate, also has experience coaching in the Elyria East Little League and MC Madness program. She said it was her experience in high school playing for a pair of legendary coaches — Ken Fenik in softball and Carol Russo in volleyball — that led her to embark on a coaching career of her own. "I had two great coaches who paved the way for me into coaching and showed me how to do it," McMillan said. "Playing for those two coaches was an awesome experience. It wasn't just softball, it wasn't just volleyball, they cared deeply about me as a person. That's the kind of coach I want to be." McMillan will have eight starters back from last year's team that went 23-5 and advanced to the Division I regional finals for the first time in school history. "Coming off of the high of last season and the excitement that surrounded it, the girls are still living in that moment," McMillan said. "I want to give them the opportunity to experience that feeling again and go further than they went last year." McMillan is hoping to build off the success the team has had in recent years while putting her own touch on the program. "There's going to be some things that stay the same but there's also going to be some things that change," McMillan said. "You don't want to change too much but there's going to be some changes because my coaching style will be a little different than Mike's." McMillan met with the team Monday to inform them of the coaching change and lay the groundwork for the Rangers offseason program. "I've been with these seniors for four years, there's a bit of a comfort level there," she said. "I wanted to keep a familiar face for the girls." To ensure the success of the program into the future, McMillan wants to work with the youth programs in the community to get more girls involved in softball. "I've already reached out to the guys at Palmer Field, Pat Anderson and Joel Melvin, making a connection and outreach to their program because they are big in the North Ridgeville community," McMillan said. "You have to get the girls involved at a young age and making a connection with the older girls mentoring the younger girls." Contact Todd Shapiro at 440-329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.