The RoundHouse | 1/27/2021 4:12:00 PM

Where are they now?
 
Melanie Jaegers – softball (2012-15)
 
Current status: Jaegers is in her fourth season as assistant softball coach at Odessa College, a junior college in Odessa, Texas. 
 
At Wichita State: Jaegers played catcher and started in 218 of the 219 games she played in over four seasons, a few of those starts at third base. She earned Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors as a catcher in 2015 and all-conference and Scholar-Athlete honors in 2014 and 2015. 
 
Jaegers, from Mesquite, Texas, hit .305 as a junior and .269 for her career with 15 home runs and 34 doubles. She ranks first for career pickoffs (18) and second in career runners caught stealing (61).
 
A move to coaching
 
Jaegers came to Wichita State considering a profession in the medical field.
 
"I realized that coaching seemed to be more of a calling for me," she said. "I considered coaching and teaching at a high school level, because I really liked the idea of developing younger players and really teaching the game."
 
In junior college, she likes the mix of teaching young athletes and helping them move onto a higher level. She attributes a lifetime in athletics and a family that participated in many sports with forming her coaching style.
 
"If we weren't playing sports, we were watching sports, so I found that I understood at a different level than some of my peers," she said. "I feel like if you have information to share, you should share it with people. That's what I take into coaching."
 
Jaegers said she prefers to instruct and then get out of the way so her athletes don't become robots. 
 
"I like athletes to be athletes," she said. "I don't want them to do something because coach said this is how we do it. I want them to understand the why. I want them to be able to make their own adjustments."
 
Learning at Wichita State
 
Jaegers spent a season as graduate manager at Wichita State after her playing career. That time helped her understand what coaches do off the field. Coach Kristi Bredbenner talked to her about the pros and cons of the profession.
 
"As I came to the realization that coaching was what I wanted to do, Coach B was very helpful and gave me some insight," Jaegers said. "I had multiple conversations with her about what to expect."
 
The year on staff at Wichita State showed Jaegers how coaches are involved in logistics such as booking hotels, academics, travel and scheduling umpires. That is helpful at junior college, where coaches are given many tasks.
 
"It helped me learn how to organize," she said. 
 
This is where I play
 
Jaegers played third base at age 10 and didn't like it. Not enough action. Catcher looked like more fun.
 
When she showed up for her next team, age 11, she told the coach where to put her.
 
"First day of practice – I said 'Hi, I'm Melanie and I'm a catcher," she said. "I've caught ever since I was 11."
 
It isn't all fun
 
Jaegers uses several drills she learned at Wichita State.
 
"All the drills I hated as a catcher, now I get to make all our catchers do," she said. "Any drill having to do with blocking. Setting up the machine to throw fastballs in the dirt and you have to stop them."
 
The view from behind the plate
 
Catchers seem to regularly turn into coaches. At Wichita State, Bredbenner and baseball coach Eric Wedge are examples.
 
"As a catcher, you not only have to worry about your own job, but any time the ball is hit, you're in charge of telling people what their jobs are," Jaegers said. "It gives you a more well-rounded idea of the game. Even if you don't play shortstop or third base, you know when they're supposed to be the cut off, you know when they're supposed to cover their base."
 
Sticking with the Shockers
 
Jaegers signed with Wichita State under former coach Mike Perniciaro. She stayed with Wichita State after the coaching change for the 2012 season.
 
It took Bredbenner three seasons to push the Shockers from the bottom of the MVC to the top. In 2014, the Shockers went 34-23, 21-6 in the MVC to win the program's first regular-season title.
 
"She brought in athletes with a good competitive mind-set and people who want to do well and want to make changes," Jaegers said. "When you get a group together that can really buy in for a common goal, special things can happen."