Four straight Bay Valley Athletic League titles and a North Coast Section Division I title will be among the highlights from Brook Russo's stint as head softball coach at Freedom, which ended this week when he announced his resignation.
Russo was the Falcons' head coach for the past seven seasons, which followed a one-year stint as head coach at Antioch. Freedom won the BVAL title in five of the last six years, and captured the 2016 NCS championship as well. Russo finishes his seven years at Freedom with 119 wins, having passed the century mark at the school in the Falcons' second game this season. In addition to the 2016 title, the Falcons also reached the section semifinals in each of the last three years, falling by one run last year to James Logan and to eventual champion Amador Valley this season. In his one season at Antioch, the Panthers went 16-6, including a 7-3 mark in BVAL play with wins over Heritage and Freedom.
"I have had a great eight years as a head coach, but it's time to focus on family and our three-year old at home," Russo said. "We had a great year, but Amanda and I knew coming in this would be our last season. It's been fun, but it also takes a lot of time, and that is time we need to spend with our daughter."
Freedom's entire varsity staff has stepped down, including Russo's assistant head coach and pitching coach, his wife Amanda, who herself was a star in the circle for Freedom, winning four straight NCS titles when she played for coach Michele Moore. Amanda has been on her husband's staff since his first year as a head coach at Antioch. Both coaches figure to be missed by the program.
"It meant a lot to get to work with this coaching staff. As a freshman, I wasn't developed yet, but Amanda really showed me a lot and I have grown tremendously as a result of her coaching," said Vanessa Strong, a two-time BVAL MVP who will play next year at Southern Utah. "Amanda did a great job calling pitches for me, and always gave tremendous feedback. Meanwhile, Brook always knew what we needed to perform at our best. He kept us all on the same page, had us focused when we needed that, and kept us light when we got too tense. We've been really close with our coaches these past four years."
As Russo referenced, the husband and wife tandem will now shift focus to their own family, which grew three years ago with the birth of their daughter Riley. Riley suffers from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, a painful condition at times which requires additional care. Between high school and travel softball, plus Amanda's private pitching lessons, it had simply become too many hours away from their daughter.
The tenure of the Freedom staff will no doubt be remembered first and foremost for the 2016 section championship, which was not only an achievement on the field, but an emotional one off the field. The Falcons lost assistant coach Scott Lunger before the year, when the Hayward police officer was killed at a traffic stop in the line of duty. Freedom dedicated the season to him, and after sharing the BVAL title with rival Heritage (each of the last four league titles have been shared between the two schools), the Falcons went on a run which they declared to be their 'business trip', a term favored by Lunger.
After dropping the first meeting to Heritage that season, Freedom finished the league slate on a seven-game winning streak, and then carried that momentum into the playoffs, routing San Leandro before going on the road three straight times to beat higher-seeded opponents, with every win coming by one run. The finishing stretch began with a 3-2 win over Castro Valley, followed with a 2-1 win over Amador Valley and standout pitcher Danielle Williams, and culminated with an eight-inning, 1-0 victory over Foothill and standout pitcher Nalani Scates.
Russo is the second high-profile head coach to step down at Freedom this school year, after the Falcons also had to replace longtime football coach Kevin Hartwig. Both programs have been beacons of stability in a coaching world which features frequent turnover.
"At the end of the day, this has been an amazing run," Russo stated. "We have had the opportunity to work with wonderful student-athletes, wonderful families, and tremendous staff. We are confident this program will continue to thrive, because of the great people who are part of it."
