Stainer steps down as Blue Devil softball coach, PE instructor

TV-13 Video

MENOMONIE (May 20, 2015) – After 17 years of coaching and teaching, Chris Stainer will be stepping down as the UW-Stout head softball coach and as an instructor in the Physical Education Department, effective the end of August.
 
Stainer looked at her role as the head softball coach as more than a coach. Stainer was a teacher.
 
"I wanted them to learn they were capable of more than what they had already accomplished," Stainer said. "I wanted to give them a perspective on life.
 
"We wanted to give the students the tools they needed so they could start to see their own abilities. We wanted to see them succeed."
 
Stainer, an all-region pitcher at UW-River Falls, was an assistant coach for five years for the Falcons and served one year as the program's interim coach before coming to Stout for the 1998-99 school year. Stainer was inducted into the UW-River Falls Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.  A Menomonie native, Stainer posted a 312-397 overall record and a 294-372 record at Stout.
 
"We appreciate Chris' commitment to the softball program, to the physical education department and to the Stout community as a whole," said UW-Stout athletic director, Duey Naatz, who has been with the athletic department throughout Stainer's tenure. "Chris is a quality coach and a quality person. On behalf of the entire athletic department, I would like to publicly thank Chris for all she has done."
 
In her 17 seasons, Stainer's teams produced 27 all-WIAC first team selections,33 all-WIAC honorable mention picks, two conference scholar-athletes, 11 all-region selections and one All-American.
 
The 2005 team won the WIAC Softball Tournament title, advancing to NCAA play, and the 2014 team earned the No. 1 seed in the conference with a 12-1 league record. Stainer was named the 2014 WIAC Coach of the Year.
 
"But what I am the most proud of is the 100 percent graduation rate of my four year performers," Stainer said. "I am so proud of what they have accomplished after college. It's not just the degree, but the leadership skills they have learned in athletics. I just hope I made an impact."
 
The Blue Devil softball program has made it a habit of earning team scholastic honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) on a regular basis. The 2014 team earned a 3.445 cumulative grade point average.
 
"We tried to implement life lessons throughout the sport that will benefit them," Stainer said.
 
In addition to coaching, Stainer carried a teaching load that varied between eight and 10 credits per semester. Stainer taught first aid classes, health education and health & fitness classes.  At one point, she was supervising student teachers connected with the College of Education. 
 
Stainer wrote the health education minor and the health and fitness minor, which paved the way for the addition of the Health, Wellness and Fitness major. Stainer still oversees the minors programs.
 
Stainer will be leaving the area, heading to the Tucson, Ariz., area, where her partner accepted a position. At the moment, she has no concrete plans on what lies ahead.
 
"It was an opportunity my partner could not turn down," Stainer said. "This will just be the next adventure in my life.
 
"I had an opportunity to coach in one of the best Division III conferences in the nation. I have made great friends, among coaches, officials and players. This is an amazing family that we have here in the (Stout) athletic department. We do truly care for each other."
 
Stainer sees nothing but the best for the Blue Devil softball program.
 
"The table is set for next year," Stainer said. "We have a huge group of returning players."

A national search is scheduled to begin immediately.