Troy University Athletics
Former Trojan Heads to the Pros
2/4/2009 6:00:00 AM | Softball
Her softball career started before she came to Troy, but Barbara Sherwood credited her experience as a player and a coach at Troy as a large building block of her success.
Sherwood, currently an assistant at Virginia Tech, recently accepted a position as head coach of the Akron Racers - who are a part of the National Professional Fast Pitch League, and Sherwood is excited about the opportunity and the talent on the team.
“I'm super excited,” Sherwood said. “They have a ton of talent, and some of the best hitters in the world.”
Sherwood is going to maintain her position at Virginia Tech as the recruiting coordinator and pitching and catching coach as well as coach the Racers.
“The (Racers) season is only three months long,” Sherwood said. “They play from June to August. I'll be doing some work on the road, but the seasons don't interfere.”
The Racers new head coach however will face her career building block in Chattanooga, Tennessee this weekend in her Virginia Tech uniform.
“I'm never excited about playing Troy,” Sherwood said. “I don't ever want to go up against Troy. I love to cheer for them and see them, but never like to play them.”
Her former head coach is proud of her accomplishments as well.
“It's very difficult for an assistant because her job is so demanding,” Trojans head coach Melanie Davis said. “She will do a great job with it though. She'll be coaching former Olympians and it's great for us to have a former player and coach to be able to coach at that level.”
Sherwood played for Davis at Troy from 1995-1998, and she stepped into the role as assistant coach for the following seven seasons.
