At 21 years old, the minimum age to be a head coach, Kaeli Andersen is the youngest softball coach in the Northwest Conference.
She arrives at Bellingham High School just as the Bayhawks are fielding their own softball team for the first time since 2018. The program floundered the past four years because the school couldn’t attract enough players to fill a roster.
Andersen, a 2018 Squalicum High graduate, hopes to increase the numbers moving forward with the Bayhawks’ fastpitch softball season opening at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday against Granite Falls.
“I jumped on it as soon as I could and it’s exciting I get to grow along with the program and my team,” she said. “It’s been fun to get feedback from them and let them reflect on not only their own practices, but mine, as well, and have them help me become a better coach.”
Andersen, a full-time student at Western Washington University studying psychology, hopes her age works to her advantage because she is young enough to relate to the players.
“It’s really important that as softball grows as a sport these athletes have female coaches,” Andersen said. “I have a lot of respect for the men that coach, but I think it’s a very different perspective when you’ve played the game yourself.”
Hiring the right coach was vital for a program that is starting to rebuild to firmly establish itself. Andersen impressed Bellingham High athletic director Chad Larsen from the start.
“She’s a wonderful human being and mature beyond her years,” Larsen said. “She was successful at Squalicum, successful at Skagit and you can just tell she’s put together differently than most 21-year-olds. I have complete trust and faith in her.”
Being the conference’s youngest coach thrills and terrifies Andersen, who played shortstop, third base and catcher during her career.
“I think it’s super exciting to be groundbreaking in that area,” she said. “I’m hoping I can prove [I’m] also responsible and reliable.”
Andersen started in softball at age 3. From there, she played through the Boys and Girls Club until she was about 10.
It was at that point Andersen said her family realized there weren’t many opportunities to continue playing. So the Andersens and other Bellingham families started the Bellingham Bash in 2010, a competitive softball club.
The Bash provided Andersen with the chance to play competitively until she was 18, which is something she said not many area girls can do because of so few clubs.
After a four-year career at Squalicum, Andersen played at Skagit Valley College.
Although Andersen’s playing career came to an end at Skagit Valley College, she also has wanted to coach her whole life.
Larsen saw the impact Andersen could have on the program with what she did with the slow pitch team in the fall, getting just enough players to field a team.
Offering slow pitch softball is one of the efforts being made by Bellingham to try to develop players for its spring program. Most of the fall players joined the fastpitch team this spring.
“That continuity going from fall to spring is one of the reasons we have good numbers this spring,” Larsen said.
Andersen said the hardest part so far was getting those interested in playing to make the commitment to join the team.
Now that she has a team in place, she’s looking forward to shaping the Bayhawks’ program into what she wants it to be.
“The exciting thing is that I get to start at ground zero,” Andersen said.
Exciting, but difficult.
The Bayhawks will play an independent schedule in 2022 and compete against the junior varsity teams of most schools.
“These girls don’t have any experience with softball,” Andersen said. “It’s a challenging position, but also fun because I get to decide how they view the game. I get to make sure they view it in a positive way with respect for themselves and respect for the game.”
