Most Viewed Stories
El Modena's Harrington is softball coach of the year
El Modena softball coach Steve Harrington might be the most prepared coach in the county.
When the Vanguards lose, it's not because they aren't ready. Harrington gets video of every team El Modena will face and he creates the most intricate scouting reports.
But sometimes things happen off the field, rivalries form between teammates and a good coach has to find a way to pull those players together.
That was the challenge Harrington faced this season and he was able to bring the Vanguards together for a run to the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals. Harrington's coaching job in 2011 earned him the distinction as the Orange County Register's softball coach of the year.
———————————————————————
ALL-COUNTY SOFTBALL LINKS
———————————————————————
"I have nothing but great things to say about them," Harrington said of his players. "They are a group of kids that early on this year we had a lot of struggles with chemistry, executing as a team, trying to bring ourselves together was a challenge.
"As the season continued to wind down towards the end of league, we started to see these kids join together. It was quite a process. It all came to a head in terms of solidarity, togetherness and camaraderie right as we made this journey in the playoffs."
Esperanza hammered El Modena, 8-0, in the Century League opener. There was also a 6-0 loss to Edison in the Woodbridge Softball Classic, which had many county softball observers wondering if the Vanguards were spiraling downward.
The Vanguards ended up taking second place in the Century League, which was considered one of the toughest leagues in the state. But a deep run in a loaded CIF-SS Division 1 bracket seemed unlikely.
El Modena got Santa Margarita, the defending Division 1 champion, in the first round and pulled out a 2-1 victory.
Next up was second-seeded Etiwanda. The Vanguards took a 12-5 lead into the seventh round and held on despite a ferocious charge from Etiwanda to win, 12-11.
El Modena, which was 21-8-1 on the season, traveled to heavily favored Valencia of Valencia for the quarterfinals. The Vikings had beaten the Vanguards, 2-1, at the Tournament of Champions, but El Modena rallied in the seventh inning to pull out a 5-4 victory.
"It was quite remarkable and rewarding process to see a group of kids start off as a bunch of pieces of a puzzle, but weren't real sure if they would put it all together," Harrington said. "You watch the growth process through several months of working out through league and now through to the playoffs and really see how these kids just jelled.
"I mean, unless you go through it you can't really appreciate it. It was quite a storybook season in terms of these young ladies' growth and development. It was truly remarkable and a pleasure to observe."
El Modena's amazing postseason run came to an end with a 4-2 loss against third-seeded Santiago of Corona in the semifinals. Santiago went on to beat Canyon, 4-1, in the finals.
"I guess sometimes in coaching we have to look at the positive side beyond the wins and the losses," Harrington said. "For me, it's the opportunity to watch a group of kids through the course of a season just jell together and believe in themselves, and really put everything for one common goal and that's to get to a championship.
"We came up a game short. Unless you're living it you really can't appreciate it. But from a coach's perspective, if anybody gets to watch a group of kids grow through a season, it's fascinating."
