MONROE - Two former Monroe softball players who have become softball coaches themselves credit Monroe coach Dale Buvid with instilling a passion for softball and teaching them the game.
Both New Glarus coach Hannah Grossen, a 2008 Monroe High School graduate, and first-year Oregon coach Sydnee Wyss, a 2007 MHS graduate, remember the lessons Buvid instilled in them at an early age.
"Buvid always had a love for the game and his players," Grossen said. "You felt that from him. That pushed you as a player and made you want to keep going. He was always there for us. He was like another father."
Grossen, who played on the 2008 state runner-up Monroe softball team, is in her third year as the coach at New Glarus.
Buvid started the Lassie League in conjunction with the Monroe Park and Recreation Department to teach softball fundaments to kindergarten through second-grade girls. He also developed a summer Sunday night league for high school players. Grossen said both make a big difference in building a successful high school softball team.
Wyss agreed that the lessons Buvid teaches early on stick with a lot of future Cheesemaker players.
"I think Coach Buvid knows softball in-and-out," Wyss said. "That (Lassie League) is the key. He gets the girls when they are 5-years-old and instills his philosophy in them. He's so invested in it. The girls get excited about softball. The key to being successful is being involved the entire year, not just from March to May."
When Grossen became the coach in New Glarus, she took a cue from Buvid and developed a Major League youth softball program for kindergarten through second-graders, similar to the Lassie League in Monroe. She teaches the fundamentals of hitting, throwing and fielding just like she learned from Buvid. Grossen also has the New Glarus High School softball team play in the Sunday night Monroe league as well as the Sugar River league on Wednesdays.
"If you can't do the fundamentals, you can't win," she said.
Wyss helped Buvid with the Lassie League while she was in high school and college.
"By helping out with the Lassie League, I found out I wanted to be a teacher and coach," Wyss said.
Wyss, now an eighth-grade math teacher at Oregon Middle School, played on Monroe's Division 2 state runner-up softball team in 2004.
"Everything I know I learned from him and all of my youth coaches," Wyss said. "The biggest thing I learned from him (Buvid) is the situational softball."
Grossen sees Buvid as more than a coach.
"He's not just a coach of softball," Grossen said. "He teaches more than just the game. He taught us that working hard pays off and how to rally around your teammates.
"He always had us push and strive for our best."
Both New Glarus coach Hannah Grossen, a 2008 Monroe High School graduate, and first-year Oregon coach Sydnee Wyss, a 2007 MHS graduate, remember the lessons Buvid instilled in them at an early age.
"Buvid always had a love for the game and his players," Grossen said. "You felt that from him. That pushed you as a player and made you want to keep going. He was always there for us. He was like another father."
Grossen, who played on the 2008 state runner-up Monroe softball team, is in her third year as the coach at New Glarus.
Buvid started the Lassie League in conjunction with the Monroe Park and Recreation Department to teach softball fundaments to kindergarten through second-grade girls. He also developed a summer Sunday night league for high school players. Grossen said both make a big difference in building a successful high school softball team.
Wyss agreed that the lessons Buvid teaches early on stick with a lot of future Cheesemaker players.
"I think Coach Buvid knows softball in-and-out," Wyss said. "That (Lassie League) is the key. He gets the girls when they are 5-years-old and instills his philosophy in them. He's so invested in it. The girls get excited about softball. The key to being successful is being involved the entire year, not just from March to May."
When Grossen became the coach in New Glarus, she took a cue from Buvid and developed a Major League youth softball program for kindergarten through second-graders, similar to the Lassie League in Monroe. She teaches the fundamentals of hitting, throwing and fielding just like she learned from Buvid. Grossen also has the New Glarus High School softball team play in the Sunday night Monroe league as well as the Sugar River league on Wednesdays.
"If you can't do the fundamentals, you can't win," she said.
Wyss helped Buvid with the Lassie League while she was in high school and college.
"By helping out with the Lassie League, I found out I wanted to be a teacher and coach," Wyss said.
Wyss, now an eighth-grade math teacher at Oregon Middle School, played on Monroe's Division 2 state runner-up softball team in 2004.
"Everything I know I learned from him and all of my youth coaches," Wyss said. "The biggest thing I learned from him (Buvid) is the situational softball."
Grossen sees Buvid as more than a coach.
"He's not just a coach of softball," Grossen said. "He teaches more than just the game. He taught us that working hard pays off and how to rally around your teammates.
"He always had us push and strive for our best."
