“This is a STAFF. We win together at Madera.”
Judy Shaubach has seen dozens of immensely talented stars come and go during her legendary career as head coach of Madera High’s softball team. But on Friday night, after leading the Coyotes to a Division 2 Central Section title, Shaubach was praising a freshman star as one of the best she has ever seen.
“Her energy, her enthusiasm. That kid plays like that. She is by far the best base runner I’ve seen in Coyotes softball history,” Shaubach said about her freshman phenom Malea Ricks.
The dazzling ninth grader came up clutch again and again in Friday’s championship victory against Frontier at Fresno State. One of Ricks’ many shining moments happened in the fourth inning when she scored on an error and cleared the bases to help the Coyotes grab a 3-1 lead.
The rising star also came up big in the sixth inning, adding an RBI to seal Madera’s historic 4-2 win. While she was getting a massive amount of praise after her unforgettable performance, Ricks deflected the gratitude back to her teammates.
“They all had my back,” she said. “We all had each other’s back. No matter what, we played hard. No matter how many mistakes we made, we had each other’s back.”
Shaubach, who led the program to its first section title in 1989, has now collected four championships at Madera High. The iconic leader secured two of the four titles back-to-back in 2015 and 16. Although she has a long list of accolades at Madera, Shaubach said “it doesn’t get better than winning a championship.”
The work never gets old for Shaubach, who keeps coming back year-after-year with the same amount of passion.
“New group of kids, grow a new group, you just start all over,” Shaubach said as she explained how she stays motivated after nearly 35 of coaching. “It’s like a garden. You put the seed in and you grow them.”
Ricks has certainly blossomed into a star as part of that new group. The freshman, who proved her skills and her maturity on the big stage, earned the CIF’s Most Inspiring Player award on Friday night.
“Was there even a doubt who brought her game today?” Shaubach said about her young star.
Shaubach’s older seeds also came up big at Margie Wright Diamond.
“I can’t say enough about my seniors, my whole group,” Shaubach said.
Senior pitcher Natasha Griffin in particular is one of those players that almost makes her coach speechless.
“That big ol’ pitcher on the mound . . . man . . . she had a gutsy performance today,” Shaubach said about Griffin.
Madera’s beloved coach also extends the praise to her entire coaching staff.
“It might say Judy Shaubach at the top, but this is an awesome staff,” Shaubach said.
Embracing two of her longtime assistants, Allan Revilla and Melissa Armiento, Shaubach continues to rave about the staff.
“This young lady has done miracles this year,” Shaubach said. “And this young man, he can coach hitters. This is a STAFF. We win together at Madera.”
As the years go by, Shaubach gains an even greater appreciation for the journey she’s sharing with the people she loves.
“As you get closer to the end, you start really appreciating the everyday journey a team goes through,” she said. “And this team had quite the journey.”
The Coyotes’ coaching staff, however, doesn’t even want their beloved leader to think about the end at this point.
“No, no, nope, we’re not done,” Revilla said.
