Denham Springs High School is looking for a new softball coach.
DSHS football coach and athletic director Brett Beard said the school is in the process of conducting interviews and hopes to name a new coach by the end of the week.
The new coach will take over for Leslie Marien, who was hired in June 2016 and led the Lady Jackets to five playoff appearances, including a run to the quarterfinals in 2019.
“I think Leslie was ready to take a step back, and with the timing of everything, the new facilities and the point where she was in her career, it all aligned where it was time to make a little change and give some life to it. program,” Beard said.
DSHS went 13-20 last season and advanced to the Division I non-select playoffs, losing to Sulfur in the first round. The Lady Jackets, winless in District 5-5A play, entered the postseason with injuries to pitcher Charity Trahan (broken foot) and second baseman Sarah Lewis (broken arm).
During the regular season, the Lady Jackets posted a 15-10 win over Holden, scoring 12 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning as part of the Robbie Spangler Tournament.
“I appreciate Leslie and everything she’s done for our program, and where our program is, I think we’re the Denham Springs softball program, which is a legitimate program that can be top-notch year in and year out, and it’s the our job. to put people in place to get it back to that point,” Beard said.
Beard said the school has an idea of what it is looking for in its next softball coach.
“We came up with a list of a bunch of coaches that we thought were perfect and great for us, and then we started eliminating them to see how interested they are in us as we are in them, and financially you have of being able to pay teachers and coaches to come to this parish who are not in our parish,” Beard said. “You’re not always looking for the best. You’re looking for the best fit.”
