Maintaining the high standards established by her mentor and building on those play into Jamie Amerine’s vision for Allen Community College softball.
Amerine is the new head softball coach for the Red Devils. She takes over following a four-year stint as assistant coach to Ed Wilkerson. Wilkerson resigned as head coach following the 2012 spring season to be head athletic trainer at ACC.
“I learned so much from Ed as assistant coach. I came out of college looking for a career in sports management,” Amerine said. “I wanted to be personal trainer, manage a fitness center.”
No career opportunities popped up for Amerine in South Carolina. What did pop up was an assistant coaching position at Allen and the Kansas native returned home to begin a coaching career.
Amerine is from Lecompton and played softball for Cowley Community College in Arkansas City. She played two years in the Jayhawk Conference, earning all-conference and All-Region VI honors including defensive player of the year as a sophomore.
Amerine was the Tigers’ left fielder. She helped lead Cowley to conference and region championships her sophomore season and a fourth-place finish in the NJCAA national softball tournament.
“I knew the Jayhawk Conference coming into the assistant’s job. Once I began coaching, I decided it was what I wanted to do as a career. I wanted to be come a head coach. Being here at Allen with Ed, I have a good base for coaching.”
Amerine said she and Wilkerson both recruited for the Red Devils through the four years. She said as a female coach and a former player, she believes she gives players and recruits a good picture of what playing college softball is about.
“My philosophy is much like Ed’s so I believe we can continue the standards he put in place for Allen softball. We’re still about playing great softball here at Allen and a winning tradition,” Amerine said.
She said the biggest change she sees her making the first season comes in conditioning and practices. Amerine said both at Cowley and at the University of South Carolina Upstate, Spartanburg, S.C., it was instilled in her that practices is where the work was done.
“Conditioning and working hard in practices. I believe in that. You work hard in practices so when it’s game time, you can go in relaxed,” Amerine said.
Amerine was a starter for the Spartans for two years and in her senior season, the Spartans set a single-season win record going 47-15.
Amerine said the first season might be a little rough as Allen has lost both starting pitchers — one to graduation and one transferred. She said the Red Devils have 21 players on the roster at this time for 2012-2013.
“I’m excited for this opportunity and I’ve been able to be involved in the Iola community since coming here,” she said.
Amerine has coached a 12-and-under traveling girls’ softball team, been an umpire for Iola summer recreation softball games and held youth softball camps on the Allen campus.
Amerine graduated from USC Upstate in 2008 with a degree in corporate fitness. She obtained a master’s degree from Fort Hays State University in health and human performance in 2011.
