McDonald named new girls softball coach

Second-year teacher Doug McDonald has been chosen to be the new head coach of the Sisters High School girls softball team.

McDonald is excited about the upcoming season and is enjoying getting to know the girls on his team.

McDonald originally hails from Danville, California.

“Danville is a big baseball town that is very competitive,” he said. “Danville routinely sends teams to the Little League World Series.”

McDonald’s first coaching experience came while living in Danville. After suffering a broken foot that year in high school he was unable to play baseball his senior year and decided to coach Babe Ruth (boys 13-15 years old) with a couple of his buddies.

After graduating, McDonald attended college in Seattle at the University of Washington and then worked five years in Seattle at Amazon.com. During that time McDonald coached Little League Majors (11- and 12-year-olds) and was also the coach of two All Star teams.

Coaching a team entirely made up of girls is a new experience for McDonald but one he says he’s enjoying very much.

“It’s a fun group to coach,” he said. “The chiefdifference is that the pitching is new to me. The wind-up is different. I’m reading a lot about that and getting help from other coaches in that area.”

McDonald shared his personal philosophy about coaching.

“Winning is not the emphasis, but it’s a byproduct of how we do things. I emphasize playing hard, teamwork, a positive atmosphere and having fun. And I’ve had success with that.”

The last two years of McDonald’s coaching career in Seattle, his team won the League Championship.

McDonald was also able to watch a couple of his buddies make it to the Major Leagues, including center fielder Randy Winn of the Seattle Mariners.