June 22nd: North Linn's Chad Spore
TROY MILLS, Iowa — In 2019, North Linn made school history, reaching its first ever State softball tournament and winning a 2A State championship. The Lynx made it back to the title game in 2020 before the retirement of head coach Marv Porter. When Chad Spore stepped in for his first varsity head coaching job, there was understandably some skepticism behind whether this team could maintain that level of success.
"I knew they could do a lot more than they expected", says Spore. "We took a survey at the beginning of the year and there were a lot of kids, including the seniors, who said 'a winning record would be nice'. And that was in my hip picket the whole time, saying we've got to raise these kids' expectations of themselves."
Senior catcher Jenna Lemley says, "A lot of people on the team had a lot of doubts. And the community itself doubted us a lot-we heard it from a lot of people and started to believe it. He started to hear it when he came here and he wanted to change that."
Coach spore did more than just get that winning record. He led the Lynx to another State championship last summer, in just his first year as a varsity head coach. "I did dream of it", says coach Spore. "I didn't know how realistic it was, but we did prepare for that kind of an opportunity."
Senior Jill Smith says, "There was a lot of doubt. People didn't really believe in us, they didn't think we'd make it to State at all. So him coming in here and doing that is pretty impressive."
There are two main factors that have led to Spore's success. The girls will tell you it's all about intensity. Lemley says, "More intensity and the belief that everybody has a role and has something different to bring to the table."
Intensity is a factor, as is scheduling. Spore says, "I really beefed up the schedule. We play a lot of 3A, 4A, and 5A teams to make sure we know how to face that upper echelon of pitching when we get [to State]. Because we don't see enough of it due to our standard schedule."
The Lynx have been ranked #1 in class 1A for the majority of this season. As they attempt to defend their title, coach Spore has room for nothing but lofty expectations. "That's always how it's going to be. It's win the division, win the conference, win the Regionals... and when you get to State, don't just be happy you're there."
