Clarkston High School alum Kristin Wilson brings success to Bantams softball team
May 3—Clarkston High School's softball team is in the midst of its best season in over a decade. And the Bantams are winning under the guidance of first-year head coach Kristin Wilson.
Wilson, a graduate of Clarkston herself, had a successful collegiate career. Now, her calling in softball has come full circle and she's passing on the wisdom she garnered from her time away from the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley to her alma mater.
Wilson graduated high school in 2005 and started her college career at Walla Walla Community College. While there, she won the national diamond catcher of the year award her sophomore year.
After a couple of years at the junior college level, she transferred to NCAA Division I Portland State. During her time in Portland, Wilson was named to the All-Pacific Coast Conference team as a utility player.
The Vikings won a conference title and made it to the Super Regional round of the 2009 national tournament in Stanford, Calif.
"Going up to DI was a whole other level," Wilson said. "It was like a full-time job. But you learn that much more. Everything is fine-tuned and you break everything down a lot more. You're practicing two-a-days, you have weights the other days all while going to class. It's a lot. But I learned so much and I had the best experiences."
Wilson returned to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley a couple of years after graduating. Before she moved back to the valley, she built some experience as an undergraduate assistant at Portland State and an assistant coach at Tualatin (Ore.) High School.
Wilson always had the goal of coaching in the valley — it was just a matter of timing.
"I always knew I wanted to come back here and somehow coach," Wilson said. "I just remember after the first year of college being like 'Wow, I just learned so much.' And I felt like Lewiston and Clarkston were just so far behind. I wanted to take that knowledge and bring it back to the high school."
When she first moved back, Wilson was contacted regarding the head coach position Lewiston High School. She wasn't able to balance out the commitment of coaching the Bengals and her job at the time, and her goal of coaching in the valley was postponed.
Wilson did end up getting her chance to coach after taking the helm of the Bantams softball team during the offseason in 2023.
Wilson inherited a team of upperclassmen that had a decent foundation. The team had a couple of winning seasons, but hadn't won a district title or advanced to the state tournament in over a decade.
But all of them had the desire to improve and get better — something Wilson credits former coach Shane Burke with.
"I definitely have to give credit to Shane Burke," Wilson said. "He had these kids for a long time and I think he did a great job with them. I was a little bit nervous coming into this because they had been with him for so long. And how I play I think is a little bit different than Shane. So I was a little bit nervous in how the girls would react and respond to my coaching. But I think they've done well."
Wilson came in with a wealth of knowledge after playing in college for what she called, "some of the best coaches." She got to work in training the team with the hope of turning the program around.
And it's paying dividends.
The Bantams are currently 15-2 overall and 10-1 in the 2A Greater Spokane League. They have an opportunity to snatch first place in league with a doubleheader victory against Shadle Park at 3 p.m. today.
"I've heard from them that the stuff we're doing in practice is really helping," Wilson said. "Going over things and being able to see it from another point of view I think is helping. They get really excited about practice. They just say that the things we're doing over and over again is really helping them and it all makes sense. Going back to the fundamentals and doing drills on a daily basis and hitting over and over again I think is really helping them."
Clarkston softball's success this season matches a renaissance for the school's athletics this past year. The wrestling and tennis programs improved compared to previous season, the football team won its first state playoff game in over three decades and the girls basketball team placed third in state.
But there's still work to be done.
There's still the postseason district tournament and, potentially, the state tournament on the horizon. If the Bantams were to make the state tournament, it would be the first time the team has done so since 2007. Another decade-plus streak potentially broken for Clarkston.
When someone goes into the gym at Clarkston, the sports the school offers are on the walls with signs and plaques of those programs' accomplishments under them.
Softball has two plaques. Wilson wants to change that.
Wrapping up this year on a good note is the main focus. But the future is something that needs to be considered, as well.
The Bantams will graduate five seniors from this year's team — two of them pitchers.
Some players from the Babe Ruth softball team that made the World Series a couple of years ago will be ready to make the jump to varsity. But for success to be maintained with the program, a lot of players will have to be coached up in the offseason.
"There's going to be a lot of summer workout stuff," Wilson said. "That's kind of how I see this going. We're losing a lot of seniors so it's going to take a lot of work in the offseason. We're going to have to put in some work."
Wilson in just one year has led Clarkston to its best season in over a decade. And from the way the players and the coach have bought in — this year is just the start.
Kowatsch can be contacted at 208-848-2268, tkowatsch@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch.
