The announcement, which came at the start of the week, has caught a lot of folks around the Division I circuit by surprise, considering Jackson’s resume at the Division I level and the fact that Shea High is entering its third season as a Division III fast-pitch program.
Bu after doing a bit of soul searching, Jackson, who owns a 172-58 regular-season record and over 30 postseason wins against Division I competition in his 13 seasons (1995-2005, 2007, ’08), opted to make the move across town and see if he could do for the Raiders what he did with the Saints.
“St. Ray’s is an established program and they will be for a while,” Jackson said on Wednesday afternoon. “I just want to start from the bottom up again, just like I did (14 years ago) at St. Ray’s. Not that I doubt my coaching and my teaching abilities, but I just wondered if I could do it again and make it work. I’m starting at ground zero and it’s going to be a challenge, but I like challenges.”
Jackson faced a huge challenge in the spring of 1995 when he took over the Saints’ program from Ray Brown. His first team went 7-11, but in 11 of his next 12 seasons, the Saints were .500 or better and qualified for the playoffs.
But this latest challenge may be bigger. Jackson inherits a young squad that was 6-12 last spring and among the division’s leaders in runs allowed.
Part of the reason for that high total came on the mound, where the Raiders, like the bulk of the division’s second-year fast-pitch teams, continued their transition from the slow-pitch circuit and endured their share of struggles. Shea averaged double digits in walks per ballgame and parlayed that with a high number of wild pitches and passed balls.
“We’re going to have to work on a pitcher and a catcher,” said Jackson. “I guess Shea had some games last year where they had 12 or 13 walks, but if we can throw strikes, we should be competitive.”
The Raiders’ pitching staff may struggle again with their control this spring, but Jackson may have a cure for their woes down the road.
“(Shea High athletic director) Ray (McGee) asked me if there was anything I needed, and I told him, ‘Yeah, a feeder program,’ ” said Jackson. “We need to start a feeder program in our middle schools, and that’s something we’re looking forward to do.
“We need to start some pitching and catching clinics for these schools and hopefully get these kids into a league or start one among themselves -- just to get some experience, so that by the time they get to high school, whether it be Shea or Tolman, these girls will have three or four years of experience of fast-pitch softball under their belts.”
If the feeder system can pay dividends, then Jackson envisions bigger and brighter prospects for the Raiders’ program.
“I’m looking for a four-year run as far as getting to exactly where I want to be, and maybe by the fifth or sixth year, we’ll get to Division I,” he offered, “but until then, we have a lot of work to do.”
During Jackson’s tenure with the Saints, his teams were not only known for their dominant pitching and the days of Jackie Fournier and Kayleigh Lotti, but also for winning a low-scoring game or two with their “smallball” ways.
“And I’d still like to do some of those things that they probably haven’t see in Division III, like double steal, hit-and-run, and bunt-and-run,” remarked Jackson. “but first, I have to see what they can do, what their strengths and weaknesses are.”
But the most important thing, Jackson believes, is his team’s attitude toward the game and willingness to learn and work hard.
“We’re going to be disciplined,” he added. “We want these girls to believe in themselves, learn the game the right way, and respect the game and each other. I want to coach girls who want to play softball. Give me any girl who wants to learn how to play and I’ll teach her.”
Jackson hopes to have an assistant coach or two in place in the next couple of weeks, and one of them could be a name that’s familiar with Saints fans -- Amanda Charest, a two-time All-State shortstop and 2005 graduate of SRA.
“I have a few other girls who played for me (at SRA) who also want to help out, so we’ll see what happens,” said Jackson.
Despite the challenges that awaits him, Jackson has a handful of returning starters and a few key newcomers that will grace his roster this spring, and he’d love nothing more that to wrap up his first season with a better record than last year and steady improvement through the course of the spring.
“We’d obviously like to win more games than we lose, but if we can get to .500, that will be a big accomplishment,” admitted Jackson. “But like I said, we’re starting from ground zero and there’s a lot of work to be done.”
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