Wednesday, Sep. 03, 2008

Former East softball star will now coach Belleville West

Kelly Creek also played for SIUC

BELLEVILLE -- Former Belleville East star Kelly Creek has been hired as the head softball coach for the Belleville West Maroons.

Creek, 25, who played college softball at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, has been an assistant at Belleville West for the past three seasons.

She replaces Bob Yagge, who retired at the end of the 2008 season.

"Every now and then somebody cracks a joke like, 'You played at East, or, 'You played on the other side of town,"' Creek said of getting teased about having played for the Maroons' archrivals.

Other people tell Creek that she stopped bleeding Lancer blue and white after she went to play for the Salukis.

"They say, 'When you went to Carbondale, that's when your blood turned Maroon,"' Creek said.

Creek becomes only the third head in the history of the Maroons' softball program, following Tom Ninnis (1979-95) and Yagge (1996-2008).

"She has big shoes to fill coming on the heels of Tom Ninnis and Bob Yagge, but we think she is more than capable of taking care of that," Belleville West athletic director Bill Schmidt said. "This may sound a little unusual coming from a West person, but her softball roots starting at Belleville East under Coach (Rita) Menke are great roots."

Schmidt jokingly added, "We think we have that best program in the area, and we think they are the second-best program in the area."

Creek takes over a squad that went 26-7 and advanced to the title game of the Class 4A Normal Sectional last season.

"I feel some pressure, but I feel prepared," Creek said. "Coach Yagge let me do multiple things last year that the head coach normally did. I've been talking to Coach Menke, and she's been helping me out and giving me pointers. Yes, there is pressure, but I feel prepared to face that pressure."

Creek said her playing experience should help her better relate to her players.

"If you try and teach somebody something that you have never done before, it's hard because you don't really know how to put it the words that they understand," Creek said. "I have been there and I have done all that, so I can kind of take myself back and put myself in their shoes, and explain how you do get through this. I feel like I relate to the girls."

Creek will have former Belleville West and Florida State pitcher Casey Hunter as her assistant coach.

"I think the two of them will be a good combination on the varsity level," Yagge said. "Casey can handle the pitching on the jayvee level straight through. She'll keep the program rolling, and Kelly will work with hitting and the defense. That's her expertise."

Creek batted .353 in her three seasons on the varsity for the Lancers. She hit .421 with 34 RBIs as a senior in 2001, earning her team's Most Valuable Player award.

Menke said Creek was a quiet, unassuming player in high school who started to exhibit the qualities of a good coach when she came back each summer from SIUC to work at Belleville East's softball camp.

"That's when I saw she was a natural for coaching," Menke said. "She wasn't the one who said, 'I need to work with those talented kids.' She would take the weakest group. Usually the coaches at camp try to work with the stars, but Kelly always jumped at the chance to work with the lesser-skilled players. And she was always patient, patient, patient. I'm not surprised at all that she has become a coach."

Creek batted .284 with 38 RBIs in 2005 for the Salukis, who posted a 47-14 record and advanced to the NCAA Regional in Columbia, Mo.

Creek has served in a different capacity in each of her three seasons coaching for the Maroons.

"Every year has been a little different," Creek said. "The first year I was a volunteer up on varsity with Coach Yagge; my second year I was the jayvee head coach; and then last year, I was the varsity assistant coach. I got to see all the different aspects of all the jobs."

Creek said her main goal is continuing the Maroons' run of success in softball. To that end, the Maroons bring back both of their pitchers, Alyse Mueller and Chelsea Weidauer, next season.

"We have both Alyse and Chelsea back, which is a comforting feeling," Creek said. "Our goal for them is to grow and be even better than last year. Alyse did an amazing job of stepping up and being a dominating pitcher toward the end of the season when we needed her. I can't wait to see what she is going to bring this year, and the same with Chelsea, who is going to be a sophomore that has matured a little bit."

Contact reporter Steve Korte at skorte@bnd.com or 239-2522.