University of Massachusets Athletics
Stefanoni Develops as Leader, Teacher During Time in Amherst
June 22, 2016 | Softball
Part one of a seven-week summer series.
By: Ed Owens
When Kristi Stefanoni left her home in northern New Jersey to visit the University of Massachusetts in the fall of 2001, she didn't know what to expect. Of the five schools where Stefanoni had scheduled official visits, UMass was the last softball program to begin recruiting her and the one she was least familiar with.
It didn't take long, however, for Stefanoni to realize that home was simply a state of mind. She fell for Amherst on her initial visit and committed to the Minutewomen that weekend. Then, after a four-year playing career that included three Atlantic 10 Championships, Stefanoni stayed on former head coach Elaine Sortino's staff, first as Director of Operations and then as an assistant, before taking control of the softball program in 2014.
Now, 14 years after arriving in Amherst, UMass is the only professional home Stefanoni has ever known.
"People ask me about that a lot," Stefanoni said with a laugh. "Especially in recruiting, parents or students will say `We notice that you played here and never left...' and the conversation just takes off from there."
Speaking about the Minutewomen from the heart comes naturally to Stefanoni, and she doesn't have to dig deep in order to sell her team. UMass softball enjoys a winning history and established tradition, but it's the personal aspects that Stefanoni believes sets the program apart.
"Coming out of high school I wanted to go to a place that was successful, had culture and had tradition," Stefanoni said. "But I also wanted to play for someone who was going to make me a better softball player and a better person. (Sortino) sold that to me and she was one of the only coaches during my whole process that did that.
"She had a way of teaching you the way that things are in the right way -- and because it was the right way to do it, not because it was going to make me look good," Stefanoni added. "She taught morals, values and treating people the right way. That was important to me."
Stefanoni incorporated those pieces into her own leadership style as a team captain, in 2006, and as she rose through the ranks to become Sortino's associate head coach, in 2013. When Sortino passed away that summer following a long battle with cancer, Stefanoni helped pick up the program and served as interim head coach for the 2014 season.
The sudden change forced Stefanoni into a leadership position sooner than anticipated, but she took on the added responsibilities in stride.
"When Coach (Sortino) was sick, it was a lot to handle and Kristi had to be the main support system for everyone: Coach, the team, everyone," said Jill Andrews, a volunteer assistant under Stefanoni, who also played for Sortino from 2007-10. "The program was obviously devastated and for (Stefanoni) being such a young coach and having to handle everything that she had to handle, it really made me see how passionate, determined and loyal she was to the program."
"She grew faster than she wanted to, but she grew as a person and as a coach when she was forced to deal with something so difficult," Andrews added. "She kept it together and got this team back to where she could start making it a program again."
UMass won 16 games during Stefanoni's first season at the helm and the Minutewomen picked up 15 wins in year two, in 2015. This past spring the team tallied 26 victories, including 16 in its final 20 games, and finished No. 3 at the Atlantic 10 Championship.
It was a major step forward for the program and for Stefanoni, who is accustomed to seeing hard work pay off.
Stefanoni wasn't a can't-miss prospect as a player and she wasn't an immediate starter under Sortino. A standout at Northern Burlington (N.J.) County Regional High School, Stefanoni fought for everything she earned at UMass, including her starting position and, eventually, her captaincy.
"I wasn't the flashiest player," Stefanoni said. "I wasn't All-America or even all-region, but I knew what my role was. I came in and I knew that I was being recruited for my defense -- and I prided myself on that. I had great instructors and I worked really closely with (Sortino) and all of the assistants. But I prided myself on being blue-collar and a hard worker."
Some stretches were more difficult than others, though.
"I remember getting frustrated at times," Stefanoni said. "I remember saying `When is this finally going to happen for me?' But thank God (Sortino) was there for me and was willing to work with me and not give up -- because she saw it too. Everyone wants a kid who can come in right away hitting 15-20 home runs and be your RBI leader, but it's not that easy. You have to work for it."
Now, Stefanoni said, those are the kinds of student-athletes she targets during the recruiting process. The ones with a strong work ethic, who put in the hours and show their commitment to constant incremental progress. It was a cornerstone of the Minutewomen program under Sortino, and one Stefanoni is looking to instill again as she returns UMass softball to prominence in the Atlantic 10.
"My first group of my recruits were freshmen this year and now we're starting to mold the program into what is mine," Stefanoni said. "That's something that is really tough to think about, it's tough for me to even say out loud, but you can't stop the future from coming."
"We want to put the wining culture back in, which I think we did this past season, and we're moving on from there," Stefanoni added. "We have to get back and win the Atlantic 10 Championship. The goal is always to be as successful as possible but, as a coach, I'm never going to consider myself successful unless this team is bringing an Atlantic 10 Championship back to Amherst. And that's what we're working to do."