Back on the diamond: After six years away, Todd Pridy takes over new role as head softball coach at Napa High
By Kyle Foster
Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
It’s been a few years, but he’s back. After six years away from coaching, Todd Pridy will once again be in between the lines in the spring of 2025.
But the difference is that he’ll be switching from baseball to the distant cousin of softball as he now leads the Napa High softball program as the newest head coach. He takes over for Ron Walston who stepped down after 8 seasons at the helm and led Napa to the playoffs twice with a league title in 2019. Walston has also been around to help Pridy during the fall as well. He will remain around the program just in a bit more of a behind-the-scenes type of role.
However, Pridy won’t be coming in without some experience in the softball world. After all, he got a dry run just last season when then-head coach Ron Walston had a prior commitment and managed the game. In all, he stepped in to help out five times last season.
“They had a need with Ron stepping down after a number of years running a successful program,” Pridy said. “It was kind of a combination of stepping in a few times when asked last spring when a coach had to step away for a game or two. (It) actually ended up being five that I spent time in the dugout and coaching first base last spring with the team, and I enjoyed it.”
On that same topic, Pridy has also been leaning on some baseball friends who swapped over to softball to help get acclimated to the game.
Yet, there is one thing that Pridy should have a feel for after being a baseball coach for some 17 seasons and that’s how to manage and deploy pitching. But he will also be able to lean on assistant coach and pitching coach DeAnna Bowers for guidance when it comes to pitching.
It also helps that he’ll have Bowers to help teach him the ropes of the softball side.
“DeAnna Bowers brings a whole lot of experience,” Pridy explained of Bowers’ importance. “I’m going to lean on her quite a bit. But I’ve also been in contact with a few coaches around the country, former baseball players that I had known who are either coaching softball now or had connections to coaches. I was able to connect with a couple (of) coaches and just kind of having discussions with other baseball guys about softball, how similar the practice plans, (the) level of expectation, the mechanics of the swing all sorts of stuff.”
Bowers also knows the game very well but also knows the pitching part incredibly well. After all, she played in college and has been coaching in the program for years too.
“She is an absolute calming presence,” Pridy explained. “She knows the game incredibly well, from what I’ve seen thus far. Luckily, she is well-versed in the pitching aspect of softball, because that quite frankly, might be the biggest difference right between baseball and softball.”
One of the bright spots of the Grizzlies in the spring is the fact that they have a good number of pitchers. However, Napa will be young after they just graduated eight seniors last season.
One of the main adjustments could be his transitioning to coaching girls from boys. However, he thinks this will be something that will be more of a learning situation as he goes along. It also helps that he has been a U.S. History teacher at the school working with a good portion of students throughout the day.
“I don’t know if we’ve gotten deep enough into this yet to know the difference between coaching boys and girls,” Pridy added. “I really don’t know. What I do know is that we’ve been on the field a little bit. We’ve had some meetings, and the rapport I have with them seems to be building. I’m looking forward to it.”
Pridy has also added some different organizational philosophies to the program so far, too. From practice plans to report times for practice and games, it’s something that the program needed.
“They seem to be responding well to kind of being organized in a different way, because Ron had his organizational skills,” Pridy added. “I definitely know from all those years of baseball, how communication and being organized is important so and it’s all they’ve all responded well, so I boys or girls, I’m dealing with young people and I’m dealing with athletes, and that I know how to do.”
In an ever-changing landscape where analytics are making their way down to high school sports, Pridy still plans to stick with what has worked for all those years coaching baseball: going with his gut and using the numbers as a tool to help make decisions.
“When it comes to analytics, if we’re talking game changer, I’m sure we’ll spit out some numbers for you, but at the end of the day, you have to be putting the ball in play, and you got to be hitting it hard, and I don’t need a computer to tell me what I’m seeing,” Pridy said “So again, depending on our numbers and how many girls come out will determine our depth.”
The last time Pridy was between the lines as coach was in 2018 when the Grizzlies went 15-13 on the baseball field and lost 6-5 to Woodcreek-Roseville in the opening round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 playoffs.
Now, Napa is a member of the very tough Vine Valley Athletic League and CIF North Coast Section.
