New Coach to Energize Medford High Softball
Youth Clinics, Summer Camps Planned to Build Program
– Allison Goldsberry
Don’t let the snow and ice on the ground fool you- there’s some serious softball going on right now in Medford.
Long-time local coach Jack Dempsey is taking over the program and he has already started special clinics to sharpen the skills of high school and middle school players.
Dempsey has organized an on-going weekly clinic for area high school softball players to help them get into shape for the spring season. Dempsey and assistant coaches Charlie Pagliarulo, Jon Wilson, and Anthony Petrelis have been working with the girls on hitting, pitching, throwing, and other skills. The clinic will meet every week on Wednesday’s and Saturday’s until the spring sports season begins in March.
Dempsey has also planned a February vacation camp for softball players in grades five through eight.
His goal is not only to get the team in shape, but also to get them pumped for the upcoming softball season.
“If you can’t play hard and have fun, you shouldn’t be playing at all,” said Dempsey.
Dempsey said he would like to see the team qualify for the state tournament, which the Mustangs fell just shy of accomplishing last season. The team will face some stiff competition in the Greater Boston League from Malden and Everett, and will also play in a Memorial Day weekend tournament with such challenging teams as North Reading, Arlington, and Arlington Catholic.
Dempsey, a video production teacher at Medford High School, has over fifteen years experience coaching boys and girls youth baseball and softball, as well as AAU teams that have competed in national championships. Dempsey has also coached boys and girls track for over twenty years, including in Waltham, Medford, and Arlington Catholic. He has coached several state champions, including Arantxa and Akilah King in Medford.
According to Dempsey, many of the athletes he has coached have played for Division 1 college programs, including his son Tim (UConn) and his daughter Jackie, a senior captain at Villanova and a 2-time Big East All-Star.
Dempsey also has helped over 1,000 high school athletes from a variety of sports put together highlight videos to give to college coaches. He said many of the athletes have gone on to play at the college level and some of them have earned scholarships. Dempsey knows what college coaches are looking for, and he also knows how to use video to help athletes improve their game.
“Video is a great tool to analyze someone’s swing, how fast they run. It’s a great learning tool for the kids, too. We’ll definitely be using video throughout the season,” said Dempsey.
Dempsey put together the following video, also airing on Channel 15, to show Medford’s softball players what goes on during his clinic: