Mahomet-Seymour hires James Heinold to be high school softball coach
By FRED KRONER
Ordinarily, when a district hires a person who has never been a head coach at the high school level, it can be problematic.
How will the person react and interact with the teen-aged athletes?
How will the person handle the details, game planning, game management and administrative duties?
The questions are legitimate, but they are not a concern for Mahomet-Seymour athletic director Matt Hensley.
His choice as the Bulldogs’ next girls’ softball coach has 29 years of coaching experience and has been a multi-decade, multi-sport head coach at the junior high.
James Heinold, a fifth-grade teacher at Lincoln Trail Elementary School, has plenty of experience in softball. When M-S introduced softball at the junior high 13 years ago, Heinold was hired as the first head coach.
He is still the only head coach for softball at M-S Junior High.
The hiring for the high school program was approved by the Board of Education at its Tuesday (Jan. 18) meeting.
“He was coached (at M-S) by Hall of Fame coaches (including Marty Williams) and took what he learned and applied it to his own coaching,” Hensley said. “We’re looking forward to having him on board.”
Heinold was hired for the high school position the first time he applied for it. The job became vacant when Lisa Ayers resigned.
It seemed like a natural fit for Heinold.
“Some girls, I’ve coached at the junior high,” Heinold said. “It wasn’t really on my radar, but I figured now was a good time to venture into coaching at the high school.”
He inherits key players from a team that compiled a 16-8 record in 2021 and finished as the Class 3A regional runners-up.
Among them is senior Karley Yergler, who set the school record as a junior for single-season batting average (.538) and home runs (17) while earning Class 3A all-state second-team honors. Yergler also fashioned an 11-6 pitching record with 182 strikeouts and a 1.43 earned run average.
“Having Mr. Heinold as a junior high coach was great, which makes it so great to have a familiar face as our new coach for high school,” Yergler said. “Although I did love having Mrs. Ayers and Mr. (Jansin) Garth (former high school coaches) as coaches as well, and I’m sad to see them go, I’m still excited for Mr. Heinold to come in.”
Familiarity with the players – and them with him – is what Heinold considers an advantage.
“One big plus is the girls know me and I know them,” he said. “That’s a huge stress-reliever for everybody.”
Heinold will continue to be a three-sport coach. He coaches junior high softball in the fall and wrestling in the winter as well adding high school softball to his schedule. Last year, he coached junior high track in the spring.
Jim Moxley retired as the principal at Fisher in 2020 and is now in his second year as principal at Champaign’s Judah Christian. He appreciates dedicated coaches such as Heinold.
“As an administrator, you know it’s hard to find people who will coach, let alone multiple sports and for as long as he has,” Moxley said.
Heinold is accustomed to the demands of coaching throughout the school year.
“There aren’t many breaks, but I just have a passion for working with kids, and it keeps me out of trouble,” he said.
Heinold is part of a growing trend of high school softball head coaches who are also in charge of their district’s junior high feeder program. St. Joseph-Ogden and Tolono Unity are other area districts with coaches doing double duty in the sport.
The M-S softball program has enjoyed a recent resurgence and Heinold – who was the only in-district applicant – didn’t want to see a drop-off.
“I would hate to see the program fall apart because no one would step in and coach,” he said. “There are girls who have put a lot of time and effort into softball over the years.”
The entire high school softball staff will be new, except for veteran volunteer Derrick Odle. The other two paid assistants resigned and Hensley said a search is ongoing for replacements.
“That’s our next obstacle,” Hensley said.
Yergler has known Heinold since he coached her sister’s junior high softball team.
“I’ve always noticed his great rapport with his athletes, and we could always have a good laugh at practice while still being serious,” Yergler said. “I’m looking forward to what my senior year has to offer.
“I’m sure Mr. Heinold will bring a lot to the program.”
Heinold wasn’t thinking about a career as a teacher and coach when he enrolled at Purdue University after graduating from M-S in 1989.
He was majoring in pharmacy.
Moxley, a former M-S junior high wrestling coach, was a summer softball teammate of Heinold’s. That started a connection which continues today.
“He asked me to be his assistant,” Heinold said. “I dropped out of Purdue, enrolled at Parkland and started coaching.
“That was the first step in me wanting to be in education.”
Heinold’s commitment to coaching was strong even after he transferred to Eastern Illinois University.
“He was driving back and forth (from Charleston),” Moxley said. “We coached 10 years together, and had a lot of success.”
Though originally inexperienced as a coach, Heinold had instant credibility with the young wrestlers.
“He knew wrestling technique and who better when I needed an assistant than a former high school state champion (at 135 pounds as a senior),” Moxley said. “Wrestling is a sport where you get out what you put in.
“You don’t become a state champion without a good work ethic. I knew he would transition into becoming a great coach.
“He’s a super-likeable guy and a loyal individual.”
Moxley eventually helped Heinold gain his first entrance to high school coaching, hiring him in 1996 as an assistant when he was the Bulldogs’ softball head coach.
Heinold had traits that Moxley said would transfer into being a successful coach.
“He’s a very even-tempered guy and is great at keeping practice running,” Moxley said. “The kids really liked him and he was fun to work with.”
Heinold was a softball assistant at the high school with Moxley for four seasons and then remained on staff for the first year of the Mark Jones coaching era in 2000.
When Heinold graduated from EIU, Moxley said, “Luckily we had an opening at Mahomet-Seymour (and Heinold was hired as a fifth-grade teacher 27 years ago).
Heinold not only helped Moxley with junior high wrestling, but also took over the head coaching duties when Moxley stepped away after winning four IESA state championships between 1992-96. Heinold later coached one junior high state championship wrestling team (2009).
Eventually, Heinold coached Moxley’s two sons, Tyler and Matt. The younger Moxleys eventually completed the circle, returning after high school to assist Heinold with the junior high wrestlers. Tyler Moxley is now in his ninth year on the junior high coaching staff.
From Heinold’s perspective it’s not as important how well a player performs in softball at the junior high level as it is how much desire and determination they have to improve.
“People sometimes think if they’re not a starter in junior high, it’s the end of the road,” Heinold said, “but if they continue to put in the time, they will have the opportunity to excel in high school.
“If you work hard, effort will pay off and good things can happen.”
Besides Yergler, there were three other juniors on the varsity roster in 2021: Abigail Akers, Jadyn Hannah and Chloe Truax. Akers batted .338 last year and was second on the team in innings pitched with 27. Hannah batted .279 and was tied for second on the team in stolen bases with eight.
M-S is scheduled to open the high school softball season – weather permitting – at home on Tuesday, March 15, against Tolono Unity.
Heinold can’t wait to get started.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “It will be a great opportunity.”
