HAMILTON — Greg Stitzel always wanted to be a physical education teacher.
At least that was the plan for after he’d graduate from Taft High School in 1974.
Stitzel had his sights set in that direction and was eventually accepted into Miami University Hamilton.
But he never ended up taking a single class.
He had taken up a full-time position at Marsh supermarket to help the household. As the oldest of four siblings, Stitzel did what he had to do to make ends meet for his family.
“My mom passed away when she was 50 from breast cancer, and my dad had Hodgkin’s disease which led to a massive heart attack on the job at Champion Paper,” Stitzel said. “He lived, but he was off for quite a while before he passed a year later at 58.
“I just never got to fulfill my dream with what I wanted to do,” Stitzel recalled.
Stitzel moved up in the ranks rather quickly at Marsh becoming “their youngest co-manager.”
He then met his first wife, and they had two children together, so he decided to continue working in the grocery industry.
“People have to eat,” Stitzel noted. “It would never turn into a layoff situation for me.”
That’s ultimately what led to him being a coach.
“I felt that was like a replacement for wanting to be a teacher,” Stitzel said.
“When you’re a coach, you’re a teacher, too. That kind of helped replace my teacher desires.
“That was a big piece of my coaching puzzle.”
The start
Stitzel began coaching both his daughter Bethany and his son Ryan when they were youngsters.
“I just thought it would be neat if I did that,” he said. “I never planned on being a head coach. I just wanted to help.”
Stitzel started doing double duty in 1999, coaching Bethany’s summer team and at Badin as the junior varsity assistant.
He later became varsity assistant for two years under Debbie Keene (Harrell) before she stepped away.
That’s when Badin’s athletic director at the time, Sally Kocher, asked Stitzel if he’d be interested in taking over the softball program.
“Obviously, I said, ‘Yes.’”
After finishing up his second season as Badin’s head coach, Stitzel’s daughter was set to graduate — and he prepared a speech for the end-of-season banquet.
“I had everything written down about that year, and I was ready to bow out, too,” he remembered.
“I just thought that was the thing to do when your kid was graduating.”
The upcoming seniors handed him some gifts and a signed card from the whole team.
“I’m just sitting at the banquet, and they all came over and stood in front of me puckering and said, ‘You can’t go — at least not for our senior year,’” Stitzel said.
“They were crying. I was crying.
“Talk about hook, line and sinker.
“I’m just standing there going, ‘Uhh. OK, I’ll come back.’
“And here I still am all these years.”
Following the Rams’ 20-3 triumph over Alter on Monday, Stitzel became Badin’s all-time winningest coach with 361 victories.
He passed the late Terry Malone who was 360-117-8 in 46 seasons as the head football coach at Hamilton Catholic and Badin. Stitzel has a 361-186 record and just began his 23rd season at Badin.
“Coach Malone is a legend,” Stitzel said before laughing. “I am not a legend. I’m not even a legend in my own mind.
“I call it an accomplishment by our program,“ he added. “To the assistants and the girls that have played for me, it just isn’t fair to keep it all on me.
“One of the things that I feel like I am most proud about is if you take my wins and my losses and you add them up, I’ve never missed a game.”
‘Best part about this journey’
Stitzel received a couple text messages from 2024 graduate and former player Halle Klaiber congratulating him on the milestone.
“You get things like that, and people say, ‘Hey, well-deserved,’” Stitzel said. “It makes you feel good.
“I’m just hoping that I’ve made some type of contribution to the girls and their lives,” Stitzel added. “I always tell the girls that there’s not many girls that go on to play college ball. We try to teach teamwork because there’s always that time where you could be on a sales team, or a surgical team, or just as a team format for being a teacher with schools.
“All of that is the best part about this journey.”
Stitzel said the relationships he’s built the last 23 years on the Badin softball diamond has a been a plus, too.
“I’ve enjoyed the game. I love the game,” he said. “It’s always been something that I’ve enjoyed doing. The friendship thing — players and coaches.”
Jeff Gray has been an assistant for 14 seasons, his wife Mary is in the dugout with him and Joe Giuliano has been a key proponent in the Junior Rams softball program’s success.
“When we have our alumni game, the girls get to come up and talk about their history of when they played, what position they played, when they graduated and what they’re doing now,” Stitzel said.
“There are teachers, doctors, stay-at-home moms — all sorts of professions. I pop my chest out like a proud papa. I just get so proud of the kids and what they’re doing in life.
“I’m grateful for the ones that still communicate with me, and I’ve had some who even coached with me. I enjoy having some of the girls come back.”
Stitzel singled out longtime supporter Carl Schatt, who was a predominant staple in the Badin softball community.
He passed away earlier this month at the age of 88.
“I got pretty emotional because I would have loved to have had Carl there for 361,” Stitzel said with a cracked voice. “He should have been there. I told everyone on Facebook that he was there in spirit.
“He was a good man. He was my scorekeeper. He rode with me on the busses. I spent more time with him than anybody else.”
Stitzel said this season is dedicated to Schatt, whom Badin’s softball field at Joyce Park is named after.
“We reward the girls with Ram head stickers for multiple hit performances, wins, strikeouts and other accolades,” the coach said. “I had stickers made with ‘CS’ on it. We’re putting those on their helmets this year.”
A picture a Schatt is expected to go up in Badin’s dugout.
“It is friends like him who have helped us get Badin softball where it is today,” Stitzel continued.
“Like I said, this isn’t just my show. It’s a program accomplishment — and we’re looking forward to carrying it further.”
