Nature Coast hires recent college grad

Mettina Maggiore, who graduated in the spring, will lead the Sharks' softball team.

By Izzy Gould
Published August 18, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - Mettina Maggiore learned about the Nature Coast softball coaching vacancy on a Thursday.

She got the job four days later.

Not bad for a girl fresh out of college - she graduated from Eckerd in the spring - who was playing high school ball at Citrus in 2003.

Experience isn't an issue. Maggiore has been an assistant with a couple of travel ball teams, some Little League teams and has played for some good ones and some bad ones. She learned a lot about winning at Young Harris College, a junior college in north Georgia, and a lot about enduring before Eckerd finally turned it around.

"We were the kind of team the conference laughed at," Maggiore said. "Toward the end they had to look out for us. I've been on both sides of the ball."

Maggiore knows she has some work ahead of her. She'll take over a team that went 9-16 in its third season, replacing Kristin Peeples, the first coach in program history who improved from two wins in two her first two seasons.

"She was best candidate for the job when she interviewed," Sharks athletic director Travis Lamle said of Maggiore. "We interviewed at least four people. She had great references and we feel she can do the job."

Izzy Gould can be reached at izzygould@gmail.com or 727 580-5315.

[Last modified August 18, 2007, 00:34:04]