FHSU hires another new coach
By RANDY GONZALES
It didn't take long for Julie LeMaire to say yes when offered the job as head softball coach at Fort Hays State University.
LeMaire, the only one of 14 candidates to receive an in-person interview, arrived in Hays June 25 for the interview, was offered the position late afternoon of June 26 and accepted in the early evening of the same day.
Once the paperwork was cleared, Fort Hays announced her hiring on Tuesday. LeMaire, 26, who is unmarried, starts July 20. Her salary is $39,000. LeMaire becomes the program's sixth coach since the program was reinstituted in 1999.
Fort Hays Athletic Director Curtis Hammeke noticed one thing in particular about LeMaire in the interview process.
"Her passion and energy stood out immediately," Hammeke said.
"I'm very high energy," LeMaire said in a phone interview Tuesday from Florida, where she has been an assistant coach at Lynn University in Boca Raton the past two years.
LeMaire wants her energy to rub off on her players.
"Very energetic," she said. "Play hard, get kids to play hard."
LeMaire said her time as an assistant coach at Lynn and the two years before that as a graduate assistant at University of North Dakota has helped prepare her for her first head coaching position.
"I want to build a foundation, keep one going where kids enjoy their time there," LeMaire said.
LeMaire said she was impressed with Fort Hays during the interview process.
"I really enjoyed my time with Curtis," LeMaire said. "I know that from the couple days there they want athletic programs to be successful across the board.
"A Division II program, they have facilities I knew we could compete with," she added.
LeMaire will initially recruit regionally, she said.
"We want to start out in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska," LeMaire said. "They all have good, strong traditions in softball."
Also one of Lemaire's first priorities is hiring an assistant coach.
"I know the most important thing for me is to find an assistant to complement my program," LeMaire said.
While at Lynn, LeMaire worked primarily with pitchers, outfielders and hitters. The team's earned-run average dropped from 5.83 her first year to 2.69 last season.
LeMaire also worked with pitchers, outfielders and hitters at North Dakota, and also assisted in fundraising, recruiting and budget management.
As a player, LeMaire was one of the team's top hitters her senior year at NCAA Division II Quincy (Ill.) University, setting the program's single-season home run record. She also pitched, winning 29 career games.
LeMaire, a native of Basco, Ill., graduated from Quincy in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in physical education. She received her master's degree in kinesiology from North Dakota in 2007. She also will teach at Fort Hays.
"This position is tied to teaching," Hammeke said. "Great academic credentials along with softball credentials as a head coach."
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