Eastridge softball transforms with Coach Collins’ arrival
IRONDEQUOIT, N. Y. (WROC) — Success has been hard to come by for the Eastridge softball team over the past 30 years.
In 2023, the varsity team ended its season with just seven wins. Then, in 2024, the team hired Shelly Collins as their newest head coach. In just one season, the team improved to 12 wins.
The following season, in 2025, they racked up 11 wins and made a run to the Class A Sectional Finals, where they lost to Pittsford Sutherland. Now this season, Collins and the Lacers have started their season a perfect 10-0. “Coach Collins just saw what everyone else didn’t see in us,” explained Emma Johnson, a senior on the softball team.
“She elevated what our program already had. ” While the improvement since the addition of Collins is obvious on the scoreboard, her athletes say her impact goes much deeper. “Coach brings a lot of new standards into the program,” said senior Harper Kuehne.
“She taught us how to have respect for ourselves on and off the field, and how to always put in 100% effort. ” “Having these different morals,” explained Marley Siembor. “That we talk about every single day at practice really gets us in the mindset to know that we are who we are, and that we’re really good.