Jefferson P. Nolan
jnolan@mustangdaily.net
Cal Poly softball assistant coach Gina Vecchione was 13 when her friends and teammates started calling her “Puppy.” Her men’s size 10.5 feet support a 5-foot-5 frame, giving her the proportions of a 2-month-old golden retriever. And after four collegiate national championships, a retired jersey and a career chalk-full of athletic awards, the nickname has stuck with her all the while.
“Gina? Oh, that sounds really weird,” outfielder Cami Brown said with a laugh. “We call her ‘Pup’ and ‘Puppy.’ I don’t even call her ‘coach.’ That would be weird.”
Prior to joining the Mustangs (5-14-1) this season, Vecchione led the UCLA Bruins to three national championships. She has played softball around the world. Now, she’s settled at Cal Poly with the goal to instill a tradition in the hearts of her young players.
And big feet or not, Vecchione has most certainly grown into her shoes.
Her career path didn’t always include softball. Born in New Rochelle, N.Y., Vecchione knew she wanted to be a coach since junior high — she just pictured basketball coach.
“Basketball was my first love,” Vecchione said. “But I was a good athlete and could pick up on the skills eventually. It was unusual. I always played slowpitch, but fastpitch and slowpitch softball are different games.”
Vecchione began college at Southern Connecticut State University in Stratford, Conn. on a basketball scholarship, having never played fastpitch softball before.
But during her sophomore year in college, Vecchione joined the Connecticut Brakettes, a women’s fastpitch softball team. Entering the fall of her second year in college, it was the internationally acclaimed team that helped Vecchione realize she was a better softball player than a basketball player.
Just like that, softball became her world.
While playing for the Brakettes, Vecchione met a fellow teammate and UCLA’s assistant coach Sue Enquist. The two kept in touch as summer ball ended, and by the time Vecchione’s sophomore year came to a close, the ex-basketball player found herself on a plane headed for Los Angeles.
“I just thought that my college experience would be at a bigger university,” Vecchione said. “‘What about UCLA?’ (Enguist) asked me. I said, ‘Really, you think I could play at UCLA?’”
And even though head coach Sharron Backus had never seen Vecchione play, she made the decision based on Enguist’s recommendation to welcome the transfer student to the team.
In her 1981 season, Vecchione led the Bruins in doubles (10) and added three triples and 21 RBIs. Vecchione was honored in 1982 as a member of the All-College World Series team after she helped lead the Bruins to a national championship. As an outfielder, she received second-team All-American honors, and in 1997, Vecchione became the first UCLA player inducted into the Amateur Softball Association’s Hall of Fame.
After her collegiate career ended, Vecchione spent five seasons coaching at Oregon State before returning to UCLA as an assistant coach. During her 12 seasons as a coach for the Bruins, UCLA won NCAA championships in 2003, 2004 and 2010, and she became the fourth player in UCLA history to have her number retired.
But after abruptly resigning from her position last season, the softball coach needed to make a decision.
“I loved (UCLA),” Vecchione said. “It’s my alma mater. I just needed to make a change for myself. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”
Amidst the unanswered questions and various job offers, it was at that time Vecchione received a call from an old friend. It was Jenny Condon, head coach of the Cal Poly softball team.
“Jenny and I are best friends,” Vecchione said. “I’ve known her for years now. (Condon) played on the national team, and I coached her on the California Commotion (an Amateur Softball Association summer ball team). We’re all like a family. (When I left UCLA) and this opportunity was here, I just said ‘Yeah, this is the place.’ The game is the game. I love coaching, and I wanted it to be somewhere where it was competitive. Cal Poly is a competitive program.”
Though it’s just her first season coaching at Cal Poly, Vecchione has hopes to bring a championship mentality to Condon’s club.
“She brings a wealth of knowledge, tradition and championship play,” Condon said. “She’s won at every level. She just brings a championship mentality and a passion for the game that exudes out of her and into the kids, and they’ve just jumped on it.”
And while the softball season is still going, the program recently topped No. 18 Washington 2-0 and No. 13 Georgia 1-0.
Junior shortstop Kim Westlund returned to the team having led the offense for the Mustangs this past season. Now in the midst of the team’s 2013 season, she is prepared for a new era of Cal Poly softball under the guidance of Vecchione.
“She likes to break everything down into little things,” Westlund said. “She teaches us how to do it, so I think that’s really helped our program. During a scrimmage, if someone makes a good play, she’ll sprint across the field just to give her a high-five. We all love that.”
And while the softball crew will focus on the small things, Vecchione and Condon will continue to prepare their players for their first conference game against Long Beach State on Saturday, March 23.
“I certainly expect some bumps in the road,” Vecchione said of the team. “But that’s part of the game. That’s when you find out what you’re made of. I’m excited about that, to see how they respond to that.”