Good to great.
It’s not just a motto on the back of Norwalk Softball T-shirts. It’s an accurate description of the progression since Coach Beau Livingston took over the program less than two years ago.
In seven seasons following the Warriors’ state semifinal appearance in 2014, the program was solid and consistent. Norwalk had a winning record each year and averaged 21 wins, but couldn’t get over the hump in terms of winning a conference title or qualifying for state.
That all changed in Livingston’s first season at the helm last summer. The Warriors finished 30-8 overall, placed second in the Little Hawkeye Conference and earned their first state tournament berth in eight years. One year later – with many of the same players – the Warriors are conference champs, ranked fourth in Class 4A and will take a 31-9 record into Monday’s state tourney quarterfinal against Western Dubuque.
Good to great. For Livingston, it’s all about the players being a year older, a year smarter and a year wiser. It’s about tremendous commitment to the same common goals, and facing a grueling schedule head on. It’s also about toughness.
“From day one, this was the plan… that we were going to get tougher mentally, we were going to get physically tougher, and we were going to become one of the softball programs that people across the state talk about when they think about Class 4A,” Livingston said. “And we’re not there quite yet. We went (to state) last year and got fifth place. We’re going to need to do a little bit better, but that’s how I feel right now… just really, really proud of our players and how much they’ve grown and the commitment that they have made to this program.”
Much of the Warriors’ toughness starts in the weight room, and Livingston says his team now “looks the part” physically when they stand across from opponents. Hitting home runs is important to Livingston, and the results in the power department have been staggering since his hiring. After hitting a combined five home runs in 2019, 2020 and 2021, Norwalk belted 18 homers last year and now has 20 this season following Lauren Black’s 10th bomb in Tuesday’s regional final win over Burlington.
The Warriors also have two dependable co-ace pitchers in senior Zadie Wadle and junior Olivia Dougherty, who have racked up a combined 308 strikeouts on the year.
Livingston jokes that “Joe Schmo” could’ve coached this year’s team to 31 wins, giving his players all the credit for the numbers improvements across the board. The timing of those numbers, win totals and trips to Fort Dodge indicate that the second-year head coach has played his own role in this good-to-great adventure. The quest continues on Monday.
“We’re one step closer,” Livingston says. “We have quite a few goals, but only three softball-related goals. We want to win the Little Hawkeye, we want to end our season in Fort Dodge and we want to win the state championship. So we have check-marked the first two.”
Norwalk’s 4A quarterfinal vs. Western Dubuque starts at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Rogers Sports Complex. Starting with pregame coverage at 5:15, the game can be heard live on 94.3 KNIA as well as kniakrls.com.