Benny Westcott
Sweet Home softball has a new head coach this season, albeit a familiar face in the program.
Emily Marchbanks, an assistant coach for the team for the last four years, replaces Karyn Hartsook, the head coach for the previous six years.
Marchbanks, 26, grew up in Sweet Home, graduating from Sweet Home High School in 2014, where she played softball, volleyball and basketball.
After high school she went to Clackamas Community College for two years and then Newberry College in Newberry, S.C., where she earned a degree in math education and played softball as a pitcher at both schools.
She returned to Sweet Home after graduating from Newberry in 2018, and is in her fourth year of teaching math at the high school. In addition to coaching softball, Marchbanks has been an assistant coach for the volleyball team for three years.
She got her start in softball at the age of 6, after her sister Makenzie Krobs, who’s seven years older, inspired her to play.
“My sister always played, so I always watched her play and go and do all the tournaments, and I wanted to do it too,” Marchbanks said. She started playing more competitively on a 12U summer team when she was 10.
She said she was very excited when she heard she got the head coaching job. “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher and coach, so it’s exciting to get this step, because I’ve wanted it for as long as I remember,” she said. “I always played softball and loved it, and I just wanted to help bring what I know and my passion for softball to other people.”
She wants her teams to succeed on and off the softball field.
“We’ve always had it as a goal to want to go to postseason and try to make it to state every year, and become a program that’s consistent, but also a program that focuses on developing well-rounded athletes; not just good softball players, but also good humans,” Marchbanks said.
Marchbanks added that “I try to develop good relationships with the athletes and help them to buy into the sport and what we’re trying to do. Because I think it takes that buy in and commitment level to develop all of the skills and get in the right mindset to play any competitive sport, not just softball.”
She talked about what will be necessary to achieve the kind of success for the program she envisions.
“It takes very dedicated athletes who are willing to work for their goals, and trying to create an environment where that is the norm — that we’re dedicated and we’re going to work hard, and every time we show up to practice we’re focused on our goals and what we need to do to improve.
“It’s all about learning how to deal with adversity and how to work through whatever it is you’re going through that day in order to still improve and get better.”
She credited former coach Hartsook for aiding her in the new role.
“Karyn has always been very helpful for me,” Marchbanks said. “When I moved back, she asked if I wanted to help, and I was all for it. She’s definitely been a mentor in this transition. It’s been very nice having her guidance. I’m very appreciative of her and all of her help. It’s been a really nice transition.”
Hartsook herself noted that she stepped down from the head coaching role so she could be present at more of the events in the lives of her four children, but plans to remain active in the Sweet Home softball community.
“Although I am not in charge anymore, I am very much still involved, and only want the best for the program and those female athletes,” she said.
Of Marchbanks, Hartsook said, “I am so excited to watch her continue to grow our program. She is an asset to the Sweet Home School District and a true blessing for Sweet Home softball.”