The Catawba Ridge softball team will be under new leadership for the first time ever with a new head coach.
Catawba Ridge has hired Mike Mayak to be the new head softball coach after the retirement of Michael Kidd this past summer. Mayak is not unfamiliar with the Copperheads program as he was an assistant last season with the team.
Mayak has been an assistant at the high school level for roughly five years, spending an additional four years as Nation Ford before coming over to Catawba Ridge.
Mayak got into coaching two decades ago in the Cornelious, N.C. area coaching baseball. Once he started a family, his girls got him into coaching softball once they were old enough to play.
“That is what got me back into coaching,” he said. “An opportunity became available at Nation Ford and I had coached with those guys some, so they brought me aboard over there.”
Mayak ran the JV program some during his time at Nation Ford and he met the Catawba Ridge staff while competing against them, before eventually coming over.
Being two-time defending 4A state champions, Catawba Ridge has moved to the 5A level this season. Mayak said playing 5A competition won’t be anything new for the Copperheads.
“We always talk about the standard and how we push the girls and prepare the girls,” he said. “As a unit we have to get stronger and more disciplined. The younger girls have to step up. Part of my job and the staff job is to get them coached up and ready for that. As a team we won’t have a fear of jumping up to 5A.”
Mayak said he decided to pursue the head coaching position after Kidd stepped down.
“This is home for me,” he said. “All five of my kids will have gone to Catawba Ridge High School. I love everything about this school, the school district, and the town. I was and am all in for it.”
Mayak said that the Copperheads staff previously has established such as standard, that while things may be a little different, the standard will be the same.
“This team functions very well,” he said. “This group is very proactive. This is great group of girls coming back. We still have plenty of DI athletes on this team, even though we lost some great girls last year.”
Mayak said he feels good about how the team can do in year one of 5A.
“I think the team is capable of three-peating so to speak and play for a state championship,” he said. “But we are going to have our work cut out for us. We are going to have to be gritty with this one. The talent is there. It is my job to put it all together. We have a hard-working bunch of girls.”
Mayak said that Blue Baker will stay on as an assistant along with Kyle Harris and Josh Yates.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
