Ex-MP baseball star Nobach joins UW softball coaching staff

Published 1:30 am Sunday, February 6, 2022

When Kyle Nobach wandered into the D-BAT batting cage facility in Bothell last spring, he had no idea his life path was about to be altered.

“I was there working with a select baseball team, and there was a gal throwing a fastpitch softball bullpen,” Nobach recalled. “It was (former University of Washington All-American) Danielle Lawrie training to go to the Olympics. I walked over to the cage to watch, and I asked her if she wanted someone to stand in. So I put a helmet on and started tracking pitches for her. When she was done throwing she was like, ‘I know who you are.’ She remembered me from hitting a home run in Omaha against the Huskies (during the College World Series).”

To that point Nobach’s life had been all about baseball. From starring at Marysville Pilchuck High School, to winning a national championship at Oregon State University, to coaching the Bend Elks summer collegiate team, Nobach has been neck deep in the baseball realm.

But that spring day put a glimmer of an idea into Nobach’s head, and this week his newest — and most unexpected — coaching venture begins in earnest.

The Washington softball team opens the 2022 season this weekend with designs on the national championship, and Nobach is along for the ride as the powerhouse program’s newest assistant coach.

Nobach was officially hired in September to coach UW’s offensive development and outfield. The 26-year-old, who won a College World Series championship with Oregon State baseball in 2018, replaced longtime assistant J.T. D’Amico, who departed in July to take an assistant coaching job at the University of Georgia.

“He is a ball of energy,” UW star outfielder and Snohomish High School graduate Sami Reynolds said about Nobach. “He has more passion than anyone I’ve ever met for our sport and developing strong women and developing the game.

“He has been phenomenal. I really think he’s the perfect match for the program and brings something that we needed.”

It wasn’t until that chance encounter with Lawrie that Nobach thought his energy could be put toward softball. To that point Nobach’s coaching efforts were put primarily into baseball. He worked with some softball players one-on-one, but his main coaching gigs were with the Everett Community College and Bend baseball teams.

However, after D’Amico departed, an intermediary — Nobach declined to reveal the intermediary’s identity — informed Nobach about the opening and offered to put Nobach in touch with Huskies head coach Heather Tarr. Despite having limited experience in softball coaching, Nobach jumped at the chance to connect with a coaching legend from the school he supported while growing up.

“I knew I could learn and grow from her, and I knew she would challenge me,” Nobach explained about why he was open to the possibility of switching from coaching baseball to softball. “I knew it was something I wouldn’t be entirely comfortable doing, and I believe in my heart that it’s a healthy part of growing when you do things you’re not 100% comfortable with. I knew she would stretch my understanding of how to coach and explain and teach. The real reason was Heather Tarr.”

Tarr, who twice went to the Women’s College World Series with Washington as a player, then took over as head coach in 2005 and won the 2009 national championship, was in Tokyo at the time as an assistant coach with the U.S. Olympic team. So a text conversation began between the two and became a daily occurrence. Soon weekly phone calls were added. This went on for more than a month as Tarr took her time to find someone she believed would be the right fit.

“I thought, ‘Wow, he’s kind of from a similar situation as myself, being a walk-on at Oregon State the way I was a walk-on at Washington,” Tarr said. “He played for a legendary coach in Pat Casey just like I played for a legendary coach in Teresa Wilson. Someone fresh out of a program like that could bring a lot of value. He’s achieved a lot of things, he’s been to the College World Series and competed for a national championship, he might bring a little different perspective, one maybe I’m not familiar with.”

Tarr assigned tasks to Nobach, such as coming up with recruiting lists, to see if Nobach had what it took to be an assistant. Nobach completed them all, and Tarr brought him on board the day before the team began practices on Sept. 15.

“The biggest adjustment has been my ability to communicate the information,” Nobach said. “I’ve been trying to expedite my understanding of the language and what to say in softball.”

Nobach, who was an outfielder as a player, is working defensively with Washington’s outfielders. But how about the other part of his duties, offensive development? What exactly does that entail? It turns out it more than just being a hitting coach.

Nobach brings an individualistic approach to swing mechanics. He studies the way each athlete’s body moves so he can develop an individual plan for each player’s swing. Once the mechanics are in place, the focus switches more to the mental side of hitting. That includes drills in which the batter doesn’t even swing, instead just mentally checking “yes” or “no” to pitches.

“He knows a lot about swing mechanics and hitting in general, but what he’s really good at is getting the head and mind right to compete in the best way possible,” said Reynolds, who also appreciates Nobach’s skill as listener. “It’s almost like meditative skills. How do you get everything in the 12 inches between your ears right, so you can beat the pitcher and win every single pitch? He’s really good at helping us with hitting strategy and getting your mental state right.”

The Huskies begin their season Thursday when they face Lamar in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Washington is coming off a season in which it went 45-14, but was knocked out in the Super Regionals by eventual Women’s College World Series champion Oklahoma. But with the likes of Reynolds and infielder Baylee Klingler returning, as well as All-American pitcher Gabbie Plain, the Huskies are looking to meet and exceed the accomplishments of the 2017-19 teams that all reached the national semifinals.

As for Nobach, is softball now his path?

“The biggest thing is staying present in what I’m doing, learning as much as I can while I’m around coach Tarr, and not trying to prod my mind into the future so much,” Nobach answered. “That’s how I can become the best version of myself. If I got to be a head coach in softball some day, that would be a dream come true. If I got to be a head coach in baseball some day, that would be a dream come true. But I love the Husky softball program, I’m going to put my heart and soul into it, and I’m going to do it as long as they want me here.”