Schmittling To Take Over Collinsville Softball
Late Monday night the Collinsville Unit 10 School District Board of Education approved the recommendation to hire Jessica Schmittling as the new head softball coach at Collinsville High School.
Schmittling, who has served as an assistant at CHS for the past seven seasons, was previously named the head coach for the Collinsville Middle School softball program as well.
“Being able to coach athletes and families for four years is great, but being able to do it for six years throughout our middle school program is a blessing,” Schmittling said in a Unit 10 press release. “It is a passion of mine to grow youth softball in our community. I look forward to building relationships with these softball families in their 7th grade year all the way through our high school system.”
She takes over for former head coach Bret Swip. He was named the new head baseball coach at Collinsville earlier this summer.
She served as an assistant under Swip the past four seasons.
“Coach Swip has been such a strong mentor for me in this sport. I am excited to take the knowledge I’ve gained over the last four years with him leading the way and apply it to grow the program even further,” she said.
The Collinsville softball program has been trending upward as of late.
In the 2019 season, they lost 6-5 to Edwardsville in the Class 4A Regional championship game. The Tigers needed a run in the bottom of the 7th to take the title from the Kahoks.
The 2020 spring campaign looked to be a strong one for CHS with seven seniors on the roster, however as with all other sports, the season was wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am proud of the program that we built and I know that we will continue to sustain this Kahok softball legacy into the future,” said Schmittling.
Schmittling is a graduate of Belleville East and also McKendree University. She played softball for both schools. Additionally she has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and also a masters degree in Curriculum Instruction & Design. She will continue her work as a mathematics teacher at Collinsville Middle School.
