BY KUMAR SINGH
York Has made the announcement that they hired Patrick Malia as the new Cardinals Softball Head Coach. With the team accumulating a 10-43 over the last two seasons, change was evident. Malia is no stranger to York College being that he was a graduate of York in 1982 with a degree in economics.
Malia has an ample amount of experience in regards to softball. A big part of the York’s baseball team while he was a student the passion was always there. Soon after playing baseball Malia developed a passion for coach Women’s Softball and ended up at CUNY John Jay.
At John Jay, Malia quickly established himself as an elite coach and got the bulldogs into playoff contention in his second year.
“When I got there I made sure that the players understood their responsibilities and was held accountable. The ultimate goal was to win at the highest level, win every way possible.”
The Bulldogs had taken on Malia’s scrappy personality with him at the helm. Racking up the accolades one after another.
Malia led the John Jay softball program to two Hudson Valley Women’s Athletic Conference (HVWAC) championships (1993 and 1999), and was named the 2000 CUNYAC Coach of the Year.
In his 17 years tenure at John Jay, Malia set the school record for wins with 215. In 2000, he led the Bloodhounds to a CUNYAC Championship along with the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. It was the first year the CUNYAC softball champions were granted the postseason honor, making John Jay the first CUNYAC softball institution to be represented in the postseason affair. It remains as John Jay’s only CUNYAC softball championship to date.
In 2007, Malia had made the decision to walk away from coaching the Bulldogs.
“I think I did as much as I could with the program at the time. I was comfortable walking away at the time. The program had grew and I had established myself well enough to have the reputation I wanted.”
However, when the opportunity arose to coach his alma mater Malia insists it was an opportunity he could not turn down.
“Well when you consider that it is the college I attended that definitely was a deciding factor. I want York students and players to have the pride I had when I was attending and we were Nomads instead of Cardinals. St John and I both was York to be respected within each and every athletic program.”
When speaking to Athletic Director Ronald St John about the new hire he was excited about what it means for the program and how it can change the culture.
“With Pat coming in, it brings a different perspective to the softball team. I think he is definitely gonna bring some pride and a winning attitude. His credentials are impeccable when you look at what he did with the John Jay program.”
St John was attending York at the same time Malia did and remembers what he brought to the baseball program that York had at the time and kept that in mind when he was hiring Malia.
“Knowing Pat from back in the day, I know he had a great work ethic. Even now, he just got hired and he’s recruiting players for next season and is letting everyone know how they need to play if they wanna win in the CUNYAC conference.”
When speaking to Malia on the changes that need to happen he did not hesitate to hold all the players to the highest standard. He emphasized that all the players have to play both sides of the ball.
“Well we need to play defense and put runs up. This team has a lot of talent and has the ability to win if they can stay focused. Guevara and Werner are just some of the talented players we got on the roster.”
Expectations must be realistic according to Malia and it all depends on how serious the players take it.
“We are gonna need them to buy in to the schemes, and do whatever I ask them to do. Another thing I need them to understand is that if they do not show up to practice they aren’t playing and will probably get cut.”
With multiple players missing multiple games last season this was one of the biggest issues going into the off season, ending the season with a 3-22 record.
While Malia is expecting to accumulate a record much closer to .500 at the end of the season he wants the players to understand that winning is not easy and will take some hard work on their end.
“I wanna make the playoffs and let the team knows how it feels to win or at least contend. Making the playoffs I think is definitely in the realm of possibilities. I want teams to be scared of playing us because we are that good.
