O'Mara Goes Against The Best In The World

It was almost three years ago when Sharon O'Mara received the call bringing her to the United States to coach NCAA Division I softball at Troy University.

A native of New South Wales, Australia, O'Mara brought with her a wealth of experience coaching the international game. She had won numerous national championships in her native country, but the collegiate softball world was a different avenue to O'Mara to learn and adapt to.

“Having international experience can only help you in the long run,” O'Mara said. “Seeing the top players in the world compete, and seeing how those top coaches interact with those players, gives me some experience I can use here at Troy.”

Although she won numerous titles in Australia – including her last in 2008 when she also had the Pitcher of the Year – O'Mara has also coached in British Columbia and Georgia.

But it is the college game that O'Mara has grown accustomed to now.

It was during her time coaching collegiately that O'Mara received a second phone call. This call changed her life and put a new spin on the game of softball.

A friend called, and that friend just happened to be Kim Wright – the Venezuelan national team coach. The result was a major change to O'Mara's plans for the summer. Instead of a trip home to see family and friends, she ended up going to Venezuela to coach the national team.

“I was actually headed home to Australia to see family when I got the call,” O'Mara said. “She asked what I was up to, and it was put to me about the situation. I spoke to coach (Melanie) Davis about it, and it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I went down to Orlando and then came back to Troy to recruit a little bit. Then it was on to Birmingham to fly to Caracas. It was a little bit of a whirlwind.”

The process wasn't drawn out for O'Mara. With the World Championships right around the corner, a decision had to be made quickly. Fresh out of the college game, O'Mara had to refocus her efforts on handling pitchers at the international level.

“Kim contacted me and wanted me to go down to Orlando,” O'Mara said. “She has coached the Venezuelan national team for about 10 years, and they were playing a professional team – the Pride – at the time of the call. I looked after the pitchers during the exhibition series, and they asked me to go down to Caracas for the World Championships.”

Although it was a quick transition, it turned out to be an easy one for the second-year assistant coach of the Trojans.

“In terms of a transition, the main thing is you are more managing the player,” she said. “You are putting together scouting reports and game plans to get them ready. At that level, you are not doing much fundamental work with them. They are all fairly seasoned at that point. Most of the players have played in college, so it was more or less managing them for 10 days during the tournament.”

Although she spent just a few days at the World Championships, the impact of the event still hit home for O'Mara. She watched her team compete against some of the best in the world, including her home country.

“Getting to compete against Australia and China was such an honor,” O'Mara said. “Those two teams were in our pool, as were the Americans, so the level of play was just outstanding. Having to actually watch those teams and scrutinize the top teams and players in the world, it was a challenge but a great experience.”

Venezuela was able to beat Australia and China in pool play, before falling to Japan and China, ending the run in the tournament for the host team. Venezuela jumped from eighth to fifth in the world after their second place finish in their pool play.

Although the team played very well, it was the night of the opening ceremonies -- when the team hit the field for the first time -- O'Mara will remember.

“We were scheduled to play the night of the opening ceremonies and President (Hugo) Chavez was there,” O'Mara said. “I met him and shared a few moments with him through a translator. He was a very nice guy and wanted to know a little bit about Australia. While we were playing our final game against China, he actually came down and sat in the dugout with us during the game.”

Now that the World Championships are over, O'Mara is settled back into her office at the Troy Softball Complex and is ready for another season of collegiate softball. Going into her third year as an assistant with the Troy program, she realizes the dividends the summers' adventure can pay in the future for the Trojans.

“Certainly being able to scout the caliber of players, and picking up on things, can help,” she said. “It just gets your brain refreshed that you are watching such skilled players. That has certainly elevated my train of thought on how to throw to batters.

“Then, from a pitching perspective, I got to work with one of the best fielding pitchers in the world. It certainly gave me some different ideas on preparation and fitness levels. It was just an experience. You just sit back and watch, absorbing everything and being exposed to it.”

As she relaxes in her office after throwing batting practice, a smile crosses her face when she realizes what she did over the summer. It also makes her realize what the future may hold for herself and for the Trojans.

“Hopefully this will open more doors,” O'Mara said. “Hopefully I will get a chance to work with the team again in the future and be able to do the same things I did this summer. I also hope it brings some attention here to Troy, since this is where I am now.”

Troy University Athletics

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