Medina named head WNCC softball coach

                Courtney Medina is coming home, so to speak, after the former Western Nebraska Community College softball player and volunteer assistant coach was named the new Cougar softball head coach.

                Medina is the fifth softball head coach in school history since the sport was added in 2000 following in the footsteps of previous coaches Sara (Wells) Klein, Dan Lewis, Maria Winn-Ratliff, and Katie Groves.

                “It means the world to me (to be the head coach),” Medina said. “This is a program and a community that means a lot to me and a lot to a lot of people, so I am super fired up about getting to come back. This is where I started my college playing career, this is where I started my college coaching career, so getting to start my head coaching career here is pretty special. This community and program raised me from the time I was a freshly graduated 18 year old and has welcomed me back with open arms twice now. That type of support is rare and I am so blessed to be a part of it.”

Medina came to WNCC in 2014 having graduated from Fossil Ridge High School in Ft. Collins, Colorado. In her three years at WNCC, two as a player in 2015 and 2016, and one as an assistant coach in 2019, she was a part of the Region IX championship team.

Medina said she is ready to help the program with the same kind of work ethic on and off the field to the players.

“I am stoked to get this opportunity to coach at such a special place,” she said. “As far as plans for the program, it is just to create strong, empowered women through the vessel of softball. The goal is to be good people, good students and then good softball players. This community has always been so kind to this program, so giving back to the community will be a focus point for us as well.”

Medina said she is close her family, but has so many people here that are family to her and she wants to see this program continue on the positive track it has.

“It means so much to me (to be back at WNCC),” she said. “This program and this community has always felt like a second home to me and has been so great for not just me but my family as well. To be the head coach here and getting to see this program and community impact these young women the way that it has impacted me, my teammates and our alum is incredible.”

Medina started as the head coach on June 1 and she is somewhat nervous, but has plenty of support to help her as she begins that new chapter in her coaching career.

“I think it’s natural to be nervous in taking over a program but, thankfully, we have a lot of great people supporting Cougar softball with whatever we need and having that type of support makes me more confident in my first year as the head coach,” Medina said. “Coach (Ryan) Burgner has been there for me every step of the way and on my first day Coach (Bob) Hessler met us out at the field and told me he would help with whatever we need. I have great dorm parents in Amy and Scott Winters that have been a huge support for me. So many families and friends have reached out since I announced that I was coming back offering help and support. It takes a village to run a program and we have the best one here in Scottsbluff, so I find a lot of confidence in knowing we have great people around the program.”

In her two years at WNCC as a player, Medina is sixth in career singles with 120, ninth in career runs scored with 128, and fifth in career stolen bases with 80. Medina leads in season singles with 88 and is 26^th in season batting average at .438, fourth in season hits with 106, second in season runs scored with 91, and third in season stolen bases with 57.

After WNCC, Medina went on to play at Lubbock Christian University where she was the Heartland Conference Newcomer of the Year and a Conference first team selection in 2017, and made conference second team in 2018.

After Lubbock, Medina served as the assistant coach at WNCC before being a graduate assistant coach at Emporia State University from 2019-2021 while she obtained her MBA. This past season, she was an assistant coach at Colorado State University-Pueblo under former Cougar pitcher and CSU-Pueblo head coach Bianca Duran.

Medina is getting her feet wet as the softball head coach already has meet the team and is focusing on bringing in players and getting ready to get started in August.

“The focus for this summer is to evaluate our current team, add student athletes that will fit into our culture and prepare for a great upcoming year,” she said. “The team that we are going to be is one that is rooted in a good solid work ethic and selfless in our actions while always putting our community, our teammates and our program at the forefront of our decisions.”

Her coaching style will be similar to the coaches that she was under as a player and assistant coach.

“My coaching style is to coach hard and love them harder,” she said. “The expectations of this program are going to be high in everything that we do. We’re going to be good students, good people and good softball players and we are going to keep those expectations high but it is going to be a lot of love and a lot of open lines of communication. As a coach you want to know that you prepared your athletes for the next part of their journey, that you have equipped them with the necessary tools to take on life and for me it’s more about preparing them to be strong women through the vessel of softball than the wins and the losses.”
                As she gets settled in to her office and surroundings, Medina is excited to get going.

“I am thankful for Coach Burgner giving me this opportunity,” she said. “I look forward to getting on the diamond with this team and making our community, alumni and program proud.”