Junior Perez wanted a change. 

The longtime coach had been around softball for almost 30 years, most recently as the junior varsity coach at Chicopee High School for the past 15 years. At 62 years old, retirement seemed like it would be the next step for the him.

Instead, Perez worked his way into a promotion. 

“If I was gonna make a move, it couldn’t be lateral, it would have to be varsity,” said Perez, in his first year as South Hadley’s varsity coach. “This opportunity presented itself, and it’s been a home run from day one. The kids are great, they’re just great. They made us feel comfortable. (Assistant coach Abel Gagnon) has been assisting me for years and (assistant coach Aneesa Rivera) is a former player, so the staff are all familiar with each other… it’s a perfect setup.” 

It’s been smooth sailing for Rivera and South Hadley in his first year as head coach. The Tigers are currently riding a 10-game winning streak after dropping their first game of the season to Amherst (a loss that came without their starting pitcher Isabella Schaeffer). He’s fit right in with the team, which has been excited to get a new perspective from an old hand. 

“I think he's helping our team out a lot,” Schaeffer said. “He's giving us a new, fresh perspective on the play that we didn't have last year, just because I felt like we were stuck in a groove last year.” 

Last year, the Tigers were seemingly cruising along smoothly until they suddenly weren’t. They were dominant in the regular season, winning 14 of their first 15 games of the season. But when the postseason rolled around, they hit a wall. They dropped their first game in the Western Mass. Class B tournament to Easthampton, and were eliminated in the first round of the MIAA Division 4 playoffs by Uxbridge.

Those defeats left a very good team to grapple with what went wrong. 

This year’s team doesn’t want a repeat of last season. They know they’re a talented group – Schaeffer recently earned her 300th career strikeout in the circle, and players like Ara Powers and Jaelianna Velazquez are batting over .500. They haven’t lost a game yet in their league, recently getting a satisfying 3-0 victory over rival Monson. But instead of just relying on their firepower and superior pitching, the Tigers are focusing a lot on small ball this year, tightening up their defense and base running for the tough games they know are coming down the stretch. 

“With Monson and games that are a little bit harder, you can't always just hit a home run every time,”  Velazquez said. “The small ball has been a really big aspect of what is new to the team and what we've been focusing on and what has really been working for us.” 

In addition to playing some small ball, the players are also getting practice playing different positions they might not be used to. Sometimes that’s a necessity with injuries that happen during the course of a season, but with 17 players on the roster – South Hadley doesn’t have a junior varsity team – there have been plenty of players willing to step on and take a new role if needed. 

“The flexibility and getting everyone to play not just one position, but teaching them multiple positions,” Velazquez said of keys to success. “So when somebody gets hurt, there's always a backup to the backup to the backup.” 

Besides the technical side of things, the Tigers are just having fun this season. Having a new coach has given the players a fresh perspective, but it’s been mutually beneficial for Perez as well. After working so long at the same job, finding a new home and a new role has been a breath of fresh air.

“I feel re-energized,” Perez said. “I knew going in as a JV coach, I've done it for so many years, everything is so automatic. I'm probably putting in 30 hours a week here, and I love it. I would put in more if I had to, because I'm that excited to come to the field and practice. And when I get here, there’s always kids here before me – that’s never happened before.” 

Before going to South Hadley, Perez thought he had one, maybe two more years left in his coaching career. Now that mindset has changed completely. 

“I'm having the time of my life. I'm 62 years old. I thought maybe one or two more years I was done,” Perez said. “I told the kids today that I don't know about you guys, I'm going to be here for a while.” 

As long as Perez is around, the Tigers will keep working hard to avoid complacency. They’ll get their next test soon – a rematch with Monson is on the horizon for the league title, and Western Mass. and state tournaments aren’t far off. Add in some interesting independent games, and South Hadley will know a lot more about itself over the next few weeks.

Stay tuned.

Hannah Bevis can be reached at hbevis@gazettenet.com. Follow her on Twitter @Hannah_Bevis1.]]>