(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Tex Town Tigers Facebook)
 Danielle de Ruiter new Head Coach of Tex Town Tigers
Nederlands
 ENSCHEDE (Neth.) -
Tex Town Tigers has found a new Head Coach for its women's softball-team, the club announced on Wednesday (January 11).
This year, the big league-team of the Enschede-club will be led by Canadian softball-coach Danielle de Ruiter, who with this name must have a Dutch background.
...Danielle de Ruiter...
...new Head Coach of Tex Town Tigers...
(© Photo: Tex Town Tigers Facebook) |
Last year, Tex Town Tigers was led by Rob Hassink, but after completion of the season, the entire coaching-staff stepped down.
In the 2022 season, Tex Town Tigers reached the Holland Series for the first time since 2010.
In the exciting Final, the team then lost the first two games against reigning champion Olympia Haarlem, but won the next two to force a fifth and deciding game.
Olympia then won again to repeat as Dutch champion.
Danielle de Ruiter, who turns 25 next month, started playing softball at a young age.
After having playing in High School, she was a short stop and catcher in the softball-teams of Pensacola State College and the University of North Alabama.
In more recent years, De Ruiter conducts batting, catching and fielding lessons at several locations, but also for Softball British Columbia, one of the regional softball federations in Canada.
De Ruiter comes from Surrey (British Columbia), which is the home-site of the annual international Canada Cup-tournament.
In 2016-2018, Danielle de Ruiter played two seasons at the Junior College-level in the softball-team of Pensacola State College in Pensacola (Florida).
With the Pirates-team, she played in Division 1 as a short stop and catcher.
In her first season in Florida (2016-2017), De Ruiter played in 43 games, collected 37 basehits (five doubles, two homeruns) and batted .259 with 23 runs batted in.
The following season, she batted .325 in 50 games.
Thereafter, in 2018-2021, the infielder played in three seasons in Division 1 of the NCAA for Lions, the team of the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama.
In her first season (2018-2019), she played in all 46 games for the team and batted .252 with 27 basehits, including one homerun.
In the shortened 2019-2020 season, De Ruiter played in all 23 games and finished with a .254 batting average.
This time, she collected seven extra-basehits, including two homeruns.
In the 2020-2021 season, Danielle de Ruiter played in 38 games and batted .190 with sixteen basehits.
In her playing career, she was selected for the All-Conference Second Team in the Panhandle Conference in 2018, while playing for Pensacola with whom she then played in the State Tournament.
She also has played in the Under-19 Canadian Team in 2017 and won the Canada Summer Games in 2014 and 2017 with the representative team of British Columbia.
Danielle de Ruiter also started coaching at an early age.
In the past years, she has been involved in coaching Canadian National Teams, was a coach at the Canada Futures Developmental Program and also has been active during try-outs or the Canadian National Team.
At Beyond the White Lines Softball Academy, which is a youth training-camp, she is one of the instructors.
In the 2021-2022 college-season, she was an Assistant Coach of Head Coach Jessica Sanders of the Night Hawks, the softball-team of Thomas University, which is located in Thomasville, Georgia (USA) and plays in the NAIA.
Since July of last year, De Ruiter is an Assistant Coach of the Lady Bobcats, the softball-team of East Georgia State College, which also has its home in Georgia in Swainsboro.
Some years ago, Tex Town Tigers had a history of appointing foreign coaches for its women's softball-team.
In previous years, the team was led by American coaches Monti VanBrunt (2007-2008), Kaleo Eldredge (2009), Karly McCormack (2010), Meagan Hartung (2011) and Bill Gates (2012).
The last forreign coach was Croatian Robert Kovačević, who was the Head Coach in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
(January 11)
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