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Beach to Become "Full-Time" Softball Coach at KSC
KEENE, N.H. 4/28/08 - Charlie Beach will now have more time to devote to his duties as the head coach of the Keene State College softball team.
Following the spring semester, Beach will retire as an assistant professor in the school's physical education department, but will continue on as the Owls' softball coach.
"I'm retiring to become a full-time softball coach," said a smiling Beach. "I'm looking forward to devoting all my energy to maintaining the success of the program."
Getting his team set for Thursday's LEC Tournament, Beach is ranked among the top Division III coaches in victories (524 -332-5, .611 pct.). Beach, now in his 23rd season, has led the Owls to eight Division III postseason appearances, capturing four LEC titles (1999, 2000, 2003, and 2005), and earning five NCAA berths (1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, and 2007).
The Rochester, New Hampshire, native took over the KSC softball program in 1986 and, starting almost from scratch, made the Owls contenders in the competitive New England Collegiate Conference and a legitimate regional power. The Owls have had 15 seasons with more than 20 wins in the last 15 years, and they captured ECAC championships in 1990 and 1993, won their first NECC championship, and made their first NCAA regional tournament appearance in 1994.
Since guiding Keene State through the transition into Division III and the Little East Conference in 1998, Beach has kept the Owls on the rise. After leading KSC to a pair of ECAC tournament berths, Beach directed the team to back-to-back LEC titles and NCAA berths in 1999 and 2000, which included a 33-win season in 2000. The Owls made a return trip to the NCAAs in 2003 when they captured the championship as a fifth seed and again in 2005 when they posted a program-record 34 victories and advanced to the finals of the New England region.
Beach, who surpassed the coveted 500 career victory milestone last season, has produced 29 All-LEC players, including current assistant Meghan McLoughlin, two-time pitcher of the year (04 and 05), and the 2006 Rookie of the Year Jenna Patnode.
Beach, a former standout track and football athlete at Spaulding High School, was inducted into the Rochester Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1967 and earned a Ph.D. in physical education from Michigan State University in 1978.
