BATON ROUGE — LSU head coach Yvette Girouard and assistants James DeFeo and Lori Osterberg were selected as Speedline Division I National Coaching Staff of the Year for 2001 as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Tuesday.
“I am very proud of our staff,” said head coach Yvette Girouard. “I think, and now it’s supported, that I have the best staff in the country. It has unbelievably fulfilling year for us personally and for LSU softball. This award is always a unique award because it is voted on by our peers.”
In her first season at LSU, Girouard and her staff guided the Tigers to a record of 59-11 and their first Women’s College World Series appearance, where they finished tied for third with Stanford. LSU won its third consecutive Southeastern Conference Championship and second SEC Tournament Title under their leadership. The Tigers advanced to the WCWS after going 4-0 in the Baton Rouge Regional.
This is the third time Girouard, who captured her 800th career win midway through the season, has received this honor. Girouard was named the Division I coach of the year in 1990 and 1993 while coaching at Louisiana-Lafayette. The award was formerly given to just the head coach but has been changed to honor the entire coaching staff in the last two seasons.
Girouard, DeFeo and Osterberg were first selected as the South Region Coaching Staff of the year and then placed on a national ballot with eight other Division I coaching staffs. Girouard was named South Region Coach of the Year five previous times while at Louisiana-Lafayette.
Girouard’s record now stands at 818-263 in her 21 years of coaching. She has had 20 consecutive winning seasons, made four total WCWS appearances and 11 Regional appearances.
DeFeo completed his second season under Girouard this season where he was responsible for leading the Tiger hitters to a 12th national ranking.
Osterberg joined Girouard and DeFeo the past season and has made an immediate impact on the coaching staff.