Bob Coolen
Robert Coolen (born January 24, 1958)[1] is an American softball coach who is currently the head coach of the University of Hawaii's softball program.
Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Head coach |
Team | Hawaii |
Conference | Big West |
Record | 1015–629–1 (.617) |
Biographical details | |
Born | Somerville, Massachusetts | January 24, 1958
Playing career | |
1976–1980 | Wesleyan |
Position(s) | Pitcher, Wide receiver |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1985–1989 | Bentley |
1990–1991 | Hawaii (asst.) |
1992–present | Hawaii |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 1085–722–1 (.600) |
Tournaments | 25–24 (.510) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
2× Big West regular season championships (1994, 2013) Big West Tournament championship (2013) 4× WAC regular season championships (2003, 2007, 2010, 2012) WAC Tournament championship (2010) | |
Awards | |
2× Big West coach of the year (1994, 2013) 4× WAC coach of the year (2003, 2007, 2010, 2012) |
Personal life and education
A native of Somerville, Massachusetts, Coolen was a multi-sport athlete at Wesleyan University, where he played wide receiver on the school's football team, a pitcher on the baseball team, and a member of the swim team. He turned down an appointment from the United States Naval Academy to play at Wesleyan.[2] He graduated from Wesleyan in 1980 with a degree in government and earned a master's degree in human movement from Boston University in 1986. Coolen and his wife Nanci have two children, Demi and Bo. Bo is currently the associate head coach for the baseball team at Westcliff University.[3]
Coaching career
Coolen started his coaching career at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, working as the head coach of the university's softball team and swimming team. In addition to his duties as the head coach of the two teams, Coolen also served as the equipment and facilities manager. Coolen left Bentley to join Rayla Allison's coaching staff at Hawaii in 1990 as an assistant.
Hawaii
After Allison resigned to become the first full-time executive director of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, Coolen was named the head coach of the Wahine softball team in 1992.[4]
Coolen and his staff led a 2010 Wahine squad that shattered the record for most home runs by a team in a single season, en route to a WAC championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament.[5] Following a win in the Tuscaloosa regional over #1 seed Alabama, Hawaii advanced to the Women's College World Series, the Wahine's first and only Women's College World Series appearance to date.
Coolen earned his 1000th win on April 13th, 2019 with a 5–2 win over UC Santa Barbara, joining Dave Shoji, Les Murakami, and Jim Schwitters as the only coaches to win 1,000 games in the history of the university's athletic department.[6][7]
Head coaching record
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (Big West Conference) (1992–1996) | |||||||||
1992 | Hawaii | 34–33 | 13–23 | 7th | |||||
1993 | Hawaii | 24–35 | 9–23 | 8th | |||||
1994 | Hawaii | 51–14 | 25–7 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
1995 | Hawaii | 47–21 | 21–11 | 3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
1996 | Hawaii | 36–25 | 15–17 | 6th | |||||
Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (Western Athletic Conference) (1997–2012) | |||||||||
1997 | Hawaii | 37–25–1 | 18–14 | 4th | |||||
1998 | Hawaii | 46–15 | 22–8 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
1999 | Hawaii | 35–23 | 16–8 | 3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
2000 | Hawaii | 25–24 | 11–9 | 2nd | |||||
2001 | Hawaii | 46–18 | 16–4 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
2002 | Hawaii | 35–25 | 15–9 | 3rd | |||||
2003 | Hawaii | 40–20 | 17–3 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2004 | Hawaii | 28–33 | 10–14 | 5th | |||||
2005 | Hawaii | 31–21 | 12–6 | 2nd | |||||
2006 | Hawaii | 32–22 | 10–7 | 3rd | |||||
2007 | Hawaii | 50–13 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
2008 | Hawaii | 40–21 | 10–7 | 3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
2009 | Hawaii | 30–24 | 15–6 | 3rd | |||||
2010 | Hawaii | 50–16 | 19–1 | 1st | Women's College World Series | ||||
2011 | Hawaii | 37–18 | 14–7 | 4th | |||||
2012 | Hawaii | 44–9 | 17–3 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (Big West Conference) (2013–present) | |||||||||
2013 | Hawaii | 45–13 | 20–4 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2014 | Hawaii | 22–28 | 7–14 | 7th | |||||
2015 | Hawaii | 32–22 | 13–8 | 3rd | |||||
2016 | Hawaii | 24–30 | 8–13 | 7th | |||||
2017 | Hawaii | 26–23 | 8–13 | 7th | |||||
2018 | Hawaii | 23–27 | 7–14 | T–7th | |||||
2019 | Hawaii | 33–16 | 14–7 | 2nd | |||||
2020 | Hawaii | 9–15[n 1] | 0–0 | – | |||||
Hawaii: | 1015–629–1 (.617) | 398–262 (.603) | |||||||
Total: | 1085–722–1 (.600) | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
Notes
- Season not played past March 11 due to COVID-19 pandemic
References
- "UH SLAMS PAST ALUMNAE, 4-2". Hawaii Athletics. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- Reardon, Dave. "Hawaii softball: Bob Coolen still enjoying a grand old time". Hawaii Warrior World. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- "Baseball - 2019-2020 - Regular Season - Roster - #34 - Bo Coolen -". Westcliff Athletics. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- "Highlights from the '90s". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- Hays, Graham. "Hawaii aims for home run record". ESPN. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- "University of Hawaii softball coach Bob Coolen reaches 1,000-win club". Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- Carlson, Kainoa. "Coolen set to join illustrious 1,000 win club". Hawaii News Now. Retrieved 6 July 2020.