Community R-6 softball will have a new head coach to lead the program this season.

The Lady Trojans should feel some comfort with the change as Jeff Angel was hired this summer to the program’s new head coach. Angel will lead the girls with his daughter and recent college softball player Emma Angel and his other assistants Darren Rodenbaugh and Miranda Fennewald.

Angel has coached for Community R-6 for 11 years and started when Emma was in the seventh grade at Community R-6. Emma graduated from Community R-6 as did his younger daughter Sarah, but he has remained with the district.

“I was very blessed about going through my daughters’ career enjoying it as a coach, a dad and getting to watch them play their four years,” Jeff Angel said. 

Community has winning seasons in six of the previous seven campaigns, with the lone exception being a .500 season in 2022. Kendra Murphy, who accepted the head coaching position at Harrisburg, led the Lady Trojans to back-to-back 20-win seasons the last two years and a district championship game appearance last year. 

Angel said there will be different faces leading the high school team than in recent years but not completely new faces. He said plenty of the girls know him from coaching junior high, and they also know Emma and his other coaches. Rodenbaugh is an alumnus of Community R-6 who has coached with Angel for six or seven years, and Fennewald is the track and field head coach but also is knowledgeable in softball with youth coaching experience.

“Change is tough, but it’s changing to people you already know and are familiar with,” Jeff Angel said. “Darren and his wife were alumni so they see them in the basketball stands and see them out here. Miranda is a teacher here and is the track coach. Those girls grew up watching Emma play and know her. That transformation isn’t that tough.”

Emma Angel finished a softball career that saw her earn NFCA NAIA second team all-region honors with Stephens College for her senior season. She was also a first team all-conference player for the Stars after finishing with a .419 batting average and 11 RBIs. Angel owned a .396 average and 12 RBIs as a junior with Hannibal-LaGrange and a .348 average and 40 RBIs in two years at North Central Missouri College after a standout career at Community R-6.

Jeff Angel said the “four sets of eyes” helps find things he has overlooked and he trusts them “to the fullest.” Emma Angel said the coaching staff support each other and each bring plenty of knowledge and expertise to coaching softball.

“I am excited to give back to the community,” Emma Angel said. “I know all these girls personally so we’ve had a lot of fun so far in the summer. We have all hard workers and those willing to put in the extra work.”

Jeff Angel said the Lady Trojans have won two out of three at Westran and split games at Hannibal, only losing games by one run. The team will have 13 or 14 girls out this season and 10 of them will be underclassmen — seven of them freshmen.

In the past two years Angel coached junior high, those teams finished seasons with records of 14-3 and 13-3. He said Community High School varsity will have more youth than in recent years but also a lot of talent, including four freshmen who can “flat fly” with much speed. 

“I was always telling them, ‘Hey, you might have to fill big shoes by the time you’re a freshman,’” Jeff Angel said. “They’ve heard this for a couple years as I’ve tried to prepare them for this.”

Emma Angel has been playing softball for most of her life and has experienced a fair share of failure on the field. She said every player goes through it, but it matters mostly how you handle it. 

“Softball is a huge mental game as well as physical,” Emma Angel said. “You have to be able to calm yourself down and move on. You can’t just fester on it because it will ruin the game for you. You have to have a love for the game. You have to want to be there and like the sport. That’s how you’re going to get over those errors, strikeouts or popups.”

Jeff Angel said he wants to be the type of coach who leads girls who leave everything on the field. He said he also wants girls who maintain a good attitude no matter the results, which leads to good team chemistry.

Early on, Angel attempted to play to his roster’s strengths by playing small ball, which led him to bunting 11 times in Hannibal. He said the Lady Trojans were successful six or seven times on those bunts as he would like to consistently put the ball in play.

“Going through the lineup, I want at least eight girls putting the ball in play every time around,” Jeff Angel said. “If we can put the ball in play eight or nine times, our percentage is going to go up. If you strike out six times, your offense isn’t going well.”

Emma Angel said the coaches have plenty of faith in the girls’ abilities and the coaches respond by offering whatever assistance they can. She said her nephew and Fennewald’s son, Clayton, helps out at practice, and Jeff Angel said junior high softball coach Kody Asquith has played a big role in helping the girls in recent years.

Jeff Angel said he expects competition from schools like Cairo and Glasgow in the Central Activities Conference but thinks Community can compete for a conference title and go deep in districts. 

“We want to make it exciting for the community,” Jeff Angel said, “We want people to come out and support, which they do already, but we just want it to keep growing.”