H S G A M E T I M E S O F T B A L L C OAC H O F T H E Y E A R
BY ERIC-PAUL JOHNSON
(Cheyenne Gandara and Taylor Van Zee also make the All-Inland Softball Team. Jade Gandara, Avea Gaono, and Mackenzie Miller are Honorable Mention.)
Hemet softball coach Jeff Galloway was searching for a team motto for the 2013 season. He found one nearly 800 miles away in Eugene, Ore. Galloway also has been an assistant football coach in the Hemet area for several years. During the offseason, he spoke with Hamani Stevens, the former Hemet High standout who is a junior offensive lineman at Oregon. “He talked about ‘Win The Day,’ the motto of Oregon’s football program,” Galloway said. “It’s about not overlooking anything you do. You try to win everything in front of you, whether it’s in the classroom or out on the field. “I really enjoyed what I heard from him, and so, we stole it for ourselves.” Using that philosophy, Galloway and his players enjoyed a historic season. The Bulldogs set a school record with 27 victories, the final one winning the CIF-Southern Section’s Division 4 title, the program’s first section crown. For this, Galloway has been chosen the area’s softball coach of the year. Galloway joined the Hemet softball program in 2006 as an assistant coach, and he took the reins in 2009. Galloway said his primary goal was making sure the Bulldogs remained one of the elite programs in the Inland area. “There is a very strong softball tradition here at the school and making sure that continued was my objective,” Galloway said. “I didn’t want to be the coach who was at the helm and see the program start to wither away.” Fortunately for Galloway, Hemet High continues to get the vast majority of the city’s best softball players, despite being the oldest school in town. Galloway said the tradition continues to draw players into the program. Galloway’s two assistant coaches this season were players who helped establish the program’s reputation. Erinn Webb, a 2006 alum who played at Tennessee, was the team’s hitting instructor. Jessica Beaver, a 2004 grad who played at Long Beach State, was the team’s pitching coach. “Erinn and Jessica both have played at the highest levels,” Galloway said. “Their knowledge and ability to pass it on was vital to our team’s success.” Hemet entered the season with a chip on its shoulder after last season’s heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Nipomo in the quarterfinals. The players found additional motivation throughout the season when the Bulldogs weren’t elevated in the Division 4 rankings despite victories over Riverside King, Murrieta Valley and Menifee Heritage, three teams that won league titles. “We played the underdog card throughout the season,” Galloway said. “This group of girls had the best chemistry of any team I’ve ever coached, and they came together with a goal of proving all of the doubters wrong.” Hemet outscored the opposition 51-4 in the Division 4 playoffs, including a 16-2 win over Santa Monica in the title game. In that game, nine players had at least one hit and one run scored and seven had at least one RBI. “It was a complete team effort, which made me very proud as their coach,” Galloway said.STAN LIM/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Coach Jeff Galloway borrowed a motto from the University of Oregon football team and led Hemet to a historic season.