Mike Coutts said that 10 years ago, he never would have anticipated being the head coach of a softball team.
“Not remotely,” said Coutts, who recently began his tenure as the head softball coach at the University of Maine.
“But I love it. I will probably never go back to baseball,” said the former Maine captain and assistant coach, who is taking over the reigns from his wife, Lynn. “I like the game, it’s fast. And I really enjoy working with the girls.”
Lynn Coutts was promoted to senior associate director of athletics in July after guiding the softball program for four years. She will still serve as the softball team’s pitching coach.
Mike Coutts joined the softball staff as an assistant three years ago after guiding the Scarborough High School baseball team to the Western Maine Class A title in 2012.
“I’m excited about it,” said the 56-year-old Coutts. “There are certainly some more responsibilities. I really enjoy coaching, but there will be more administrative work now.
“The program is in a good place, and I want to continue to build on what Lynn and I have built so far. The fact she will still be involved with the pitching is huge for me. As [Major League Baseball Hall of Fame catcher] Yogi Berra once said, ‘The only thing I know about pitching is I can’t hit it,’” said Coutts.
Lynn Coutts guided the Black Bears to a 65-110-1 record in her four years, 30-39-1 in America East, but she had her best season last spring when Maine went 22-22 (10-7 AE).
“I’m looking forward to building on what we did last year,” added Mike Coutts, who played at Maine from 1978-81 and captained the 1981 College World Series team.
He spent 11 seasons as an assistant under late Hall of Fame coach John Winkin. The Black Bears made four NCAA tournament appearances while he was there.
“Lynn and I want to build this program the way coach Winkin built the baseball program. We know full well going to [the Women’s College World Series] is not one of those things we’re going to do many times, if at all,” said Coutts. “But to be the best team in the Northeast is a reachable goal.
“It’s exciting to see how far we can take the program,” he added.
His players are spending a lot of time with new strength and conditioning coach Jonathan Lynch.
“We want to be as strong as we can at the [America East] tournament next spring. We don’t want to go into the tournament tired and weak,” said Coutts.
His extensive and impressive baseball coaching resume includes being named the 1995 Cape Cod League Coach of the Year, stints in the Alaska Collegiate Baseball League and the New England Collegiate Baseball League and the coach of the undefeated 2009 state Class A championship Deering High School Rams.
Coutts said there are a lot of similarities between coaching softball and baseball.
“People may look at women differently, but they’re just as motivated, just as competitive and just as tough as the guys,” said Coutts.