Central’s softball team has been preparing for their regular season with the help of their new coach, Randy Crawford. He knew Central had a good softball team, so he decided to start his new occupation as Central’s head softball coach.

“I heard that the job was opening up, so I spoke to Coach Shurette. Shurette is a former player of mine; she thought that I would be a good fit, so I applied and interviewed for the job,” explained Crawford.

Getting used to a new coach and their way of doing things can be difficult, but the girls have been adjusting well as they abide by his new coaching techniques.

The team has also been getting along with their new coach. They too, aspire to go far this softball season.

“The softball team and I have been getting along very well. They are a great bunch of hard working girls,” Crawford imparted, “With team work and the girls’ dedication, we can go very far. They just have to really want it.”

“The new coach does things a lot different than Shurette, but he is still a really great coach,” exclaimed Jaleesa Smith, a current sophomore player.

Randy Crawford has been coaching girls’ fast pitch softball for 30 years now, having coached softball at every level, from tee ball to college fast pitch. He graduated from UTC with a Bachelor of Science in Health and Physical Education, and earned a Masters of Education degree from Tusculum College.

Coach Crawford attended Tennessee University where he went back and established their fast pitch softball program. He later ended up becoming their athletics director.

“I played baseball in college at Tennessee Temple University. After college I played softball for several years,” Crawford elaborated.

Coaches need some down time too, so in his free time he likes to spend time traveling, and working on his cars.

“I like working on my two antique cars, a ’65 Mustang and a ’65 Chevy Impala. I also like traveling to see my three daughters and their families,” Crawford concluded.