To say that the Pope High School Fastpitch Softball program has had a great run over the last ten years would be an understatement! Not only were they 2022 AAAAAA State Champions, the team was also number one in Georgia in 2014 and 2019; and State runners-up in 2012, 2018, and 2020.
Behind every successful team is, of course, a great coach. The Cobb County 2022 Coach of the Year and Georgia Dugout Club State Coach of the year is Pope alumni and former player Ellie Viland. Coach Viland is also a 4-time Georgia Athletic Coach’s Association Region Assistant Coach of the Year, and she earned the Georgia Dugout Club AAAAAA Assistant Coach of the Year in 2019. Coach Viland’s love of the sport first developed as a child visiting her grandparents’ farm in Ohio. Her Grandad was a lifelong baseball coach. His love of the sport and time spent tossing the ball with Ellie from age 5 nurtured a passion for playing ball. She grew up playing Sandy Plains rec softball as well as travel ball and then on the Pope Fastpitch softball team. Coach Viland is a Pope High School alumnus, class of 2014, and after earning her degree from UGA, returned to teach at Pope High School. Although Coach Viland took time off from playing during her college years, she never lost her passion for the sport. She was able to stay involved with the Pope program by assisting with summer camps and was hired on as an Assistant Coach.
Coach Viland credits that time she spent under the tutelage of Chris Turco, then Head Coach of Pope Fastpitch Softball for 14 years, (now Head Coach for Pope’s State Champion Baseball team), that helped shape her as a coach. Not only does she feel that working alongside Coach Turco gave her a solid coaching foundation, but she also gives a lot of credit to the staff she works with. They are so vital to her that Coach Viland made a point of recognizing each of her Assistants by name: Matt Liedberg, Natalie Lampert, and Michael Nelson. Her exact words were that she is nothing without them.
So how does she motivate a group of young women in high school and create a team atmosphere that propels them to success?
Coach Viland’s process is simple and effective and she leads by example. She firmly understands that every member of her team is a teenager dealing with the daily challenges of high school. Coach Viland has empathy and compassion for what each player copes with out side of softball and has worked hard to create an inclusive and supportive environment. Coach Viland teaches her players to block out outside stressors by giving them something to focus on at every practice. Her goal is to build the confidence of every player on the team.
Coach Viland knows that success is more than spending each practice focused solely on winning games. She encourages her team to celebrate the win in each small moment on the field every single day. Coach Viland genuinely wants her team to see that not only will every small win lead to bigger wins, but each player will walk away from this experience with great memories and a lifetime connection to Pope High School. Coach Viland’s authentic approach to her students, team, and sport has set the Pope Fastpitch Softball program up for continued success in the future!
