It’s been seven months since Fresno City College President Dr. Robert Pimentel and Associate Dean of Athletics Dr. Derek Johnson announced the hiring of Linda Garza as the new head coach of FCC’s softball team. 

The team took home first place in their conference for Garza’s first season coaching. Garza is getting the team ready for playoffs and they are excited to be able to make it this far. 

“It’s been a great experience,” Garza said. 

She talks about how coaching softball has always been the same, it doesn’t really change much regarding divisions. They still go out there and compete the same way. 

Getting to know the team and seeing what they can do is something that Garza has enjoyed in her journey of coaching the Rams. 

“We have strong personalities, we have a lot of fun while playing and we’re super competitive,” Garza said. “We just want to uphold that winning tradition so we do a lot of the hard work when we get the opportunity to.” 

Her favorite thing about coaching is getting the opportunity to see young people accomplish goals and be able to have a plan. 

“They see something that they want to do and they get to work towards it and be able to see their faces when they actually reach their goals,” Garza said. 

She gave thanks to her colleagues for helping her with her move to FCC. With their help, Garza was able to help her team work hard and win the Central Valley Championship game, 10-2.

Garza is looking forward to being able to win more conference championships and hopefully win a state title.

“That’s our goal,” Garza said. 

Kylie Nunes, center fielder and right fielder shares her experience with Garza and the Rams. As they had a growing season, they came together as a team and pulled off a ton of success. 

“Garza helped lead us through some hard patches through the season and helped us come together and unite as a team,” Nunes said. 

Having Garza as their leader works well for the team, she sets them up for success all season long. 

Nunes also shares that the best quality of Garza is pushing the Rams to be the best people and players they can be. 

“This season she has helped me grow into a better leader and player by constantly pushing me to achieve all my goals in softball and in life,” Nunes said. 

As the Rams had many memorable moments together, the one that stood out to Nunes this season was winning the CVC with her teammates for the 2nd year in a row.

“Focus and enjoy being in the know, show up everyday wanting to get better for yourself and your team,” Nunes said. “Love and lean on your Ram fam, nothing is better than having something so special like this Ram fam.”