Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College announced today that former Thunder Softball Head Coach Kerry Rodd will return to lead the women’s softball program at the college. Rodd accepted the duties and responsibilities of rebuilding the Thunder Softball program and looks forward to the challenge.
“I am excited to be back,” said Rodd. “Over the last three years I have enjoyed being involved in the high school coaching ranks and I loved every minute of it. With the bad weather a couple of years ago and low numbers recently, the Thunder Softball program has struggled to field a team. One of my goals this time around with the Thunder is to get the program back on solid footing and give young women the opportunity to extend their softball careers for a couple of years and not have to travel a long way to do that.”
Coach Rodd brings his tremendous coaching resume to the Thunder Softball program. Rodd has coached softball for nearly 25 years, spanning youth leagues to high-caliber traveling teams to the college level. In his time working with elite high school players, Rodd has coached more than 200 players who have gone on to play college softball. He plans to utilize his vast network of contacts and former players to make the Thunder successful once again.
“There is a lot of work to be done, but it’s almost like starting over and getting a chance to put my own stamp on the program for a second time,” said Rodd. “We have a lot of former Thunder players who are excited about trying to help rebuild the program, and I will be leaning a lot on them to help with recruiting, as well as networking with local high school coaches. We were able to field competitive, winning teams in the past, and I see no reason why we can’t make the Thunder successful again.”
Coach Rodd founded the Thunder Softball program and prepared the team for the inaugural 2008 season. He led the team for five seasons, and his 2009 Thunder team finished 20-14 and earned a berth in postseason play. Rodd coached several outstanding Thunder players who earned numerous conference player of the week honors, all-conference team and all-region team members, and two who achieved NJCAA all-American honors.
In his career, Rodd has coached five Minnesota state champion elite youth teams, two runner-up teams, and three third-place teams. He has coached six teams to national level tournaments, including the ASA Nationals, the USSSA World Tournament, and the AFA Nationals. His teams have performed well in the national tournaments, including an 11th place finish in the national U-16 tournament and two top-ten finishes at the USSSA World Tournament.
The Thunder will not field a team during the 2016 softball season. Coach Rodd will begin recruiting student athletes and preparing the program for the 2017 season.
Rodd graduated from Cloquet Senior High School in 1976 and earned a degree in Radio Broadcasting from Lake Superior College. Rodd participated in baseball, basketball, track, and cross country in high school, but admits that he was remarkably average in all of them.
In addition to his position as Thunder Head Softball Coach, Rodd works as General Manager of Northwoods Radio Group, which is owned and operated by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Rodd resides with his wife in Scanlon, Minnesota.