[ad_1]
Arizona softball coach Mike Candrea officially announced his retirement on Monday after consolidating his position as the best softball coach of all time during his legendary Wildcats career.
Candrea not only built the Arizona program, he helped grow the sport itself. With the Wildcats, Candrea won eight national championships, appeared in 24 Women’s College World Series events, won 10 conference championships and coached 53 All-Americans – all by winning 1,674 games.
Speculation grew during the season that this would be his last in Arizona. After the Wildcats lost at WCWS on Saturday, Candrea said he would make the decision “on my own terms,” but he became emotional as he described the overall impact he has had on all the student athletes he trains.
Candrea said through a statement in Arizona on Monday: “It has been an honor to represent the University of Arizona for 36 years. I am indebted to all the players, coaches and support staff who have made the Arizona softball experience one. When I arrived in 1985, I wanted to build a culture of excellence and compete. consistently in the division’s softball at the highest levels. Above all, our goal was to prepare our student-athlete for the life of softball and build relationships that will last a lifetime. ”
In addition to his career as a collegiate coach, Candrea coached USA Softball for gold at the 2004 Olympics and silver at the 2008 Olympics. He also has the fourth most wins of all coaches in any NCAA sport.
Candrea will continue in the Arizona Sports Department, serving in an advisory role and assisting in the development of coaching.
“While his impact on the game is widely known, his legacy is in the lives of the thousands of wild cats he coaches,” Arizona sports director Dave Heeke said in a statement. “Mike’s career described true excellence in all aspects of softball program management – winning the field, student-athlete success in the classroom, and developing them into life after graduation. He founded the Arizona Athletics Championship culture that spread to our stand and represented the state with honor and distinctiveness.”
[ad_2]
picture credit