Darin Monroe enters his second season as the head coach of the Golden Eagles softball program. In his first season, the Golden Eagles saw a 19 win improvement from the previous year, finishing with an overall record of 30-17, coming up one win short of making it to the national tournament. It was a season that landed four players on the all-Region IV team, six on the all-N4C team, and two sophomores to the Region IV softball all-star game.

Monroe grew up in Ossian, Iowa where he was a four-sport athlete in cross-country, wrestling, track, and baseball at South Winneshiek High School in Calmar, Iowa. He was a state participant in track and cross country, and a two-time district qualifier in wrestling. In baseball, he was an all-conference catcher, and was named his team's Most Valuable Defensive Player in his junior and senior seasons.

Monroe went on to play college baseball for Luther College a NCAA Division III College in Decorah, Iowa. While at Luther, he also became heavily involved in coaching as he was an assistant varsity baseball and softball coach, assistant varsity wrestling coach and junior high football coach at his alma mater.

After college, Monroe accepted a position to become an assistant softball coach at Southwestern Community College, a Division II junior college in Creston, Iowa. While at Southwestern, he helped his team set a school record for wins in a season (24) and helped recruit the team's largest recruiting class in school history (18), which was headlined by five all-state players.

While at Southwestern, Monroe was also the head softball coach at Lamoni High School. In one season, his team saw an eight win improvement from the previous season. At Lamoni, he coached three all-state, three all-district, and six all-conference players in just one season at the helm. He also put on the school's first ever "Coaches vs. Cancer" event, which helped raise money for cancer research.

Monroe is currently working on his Master's degree in Organizational Management with an emphasis in Sports Management through Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska. He is also a member of the National Fast-pitch Coaches Association.

"2012 was a step in the right direction for this program. We established an attitude and a culture of what it means to play for Rock Valley College. We will look to build upon the success we had last year and continue to bring this program toward national contention."

 

Assistant Coach: Alyssa Novak

Alyssa is in her first season as an assistant coach for the RVC softball team. She is graduating from Rockford College in December with a degree in Sports Management. She also served as team captain for the Rockford College softball team in 2010-2011 and started her college career by playing two seasons at Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby, Illinois. Alyssa was also a three year varsity starter at Lasalle-Peru Township High School where she was a two-time all-conference selection. Her previous coaching experience includes a 2010 stint with the Ottawa Girls Fast-Pitch Association.

 

Manager: Jon Akins