Prior to this year, the Ashland softball team had not fared well on the field. Over the past four seasons, the Clockers have managed only 9 wins and 65 losses, with the team having one of its better seasons in some time, going 6-13 last spring. Although there was a movement in the win column, the Ashland team was still hoping for something more to happen. Enter US Marine veteran Larry Sasso. 

Sasso has been involved in coaching for 36 years, originally as a baseball coach, where he coached at different high schools as well as an American Legion team. In 2017, he applied for a position as the baseball coach at Ana Maria College in Paxton, MA. Unfortunately, the college hired someone to fill the vacancy and asked him if he wanted to coach the softball team instead. 

“At first I was very reluctant, but the more I found out about the program, it got easier to say yes,” Sasso said. “I was an outsider looking in, but I eventually fell in love with the sport and am all in now.”

The military veteran had numerous years of experience as well as teaching at Ana Maria College, but after eight years, he started to see the writing on the wall and decided to part ways with the college, both as a coach and professor. Sasso was looking for a new start and began casually looking when he came across a high school (Ashland) in need of a softball coach. Unfortunately, living in Grafton, he thought that the school was too far away until one day, while out driving, he saw a sign regarding Ashland and realized it wasn’t as far as he originally thought.

As a Grafton resident, he knew that Kevin Anderson had moved from Grafton to Ashland as the AD, so he called him at the school. However, when the AD’s phone was answered, it wasn’t Anderson; instead, it was Peter Connery, the school’s new AD.

After talking with Connery for an extended time on the phone, Sasso felt that the two not only had a great conversation but also shared a welcoming feeling. He began researching Ashland extensively before he sat down with the school for his interview. 

“I was looking for a school that embraced the sport of softball with an administration that fully supported the program,” he said. “I got good feedback from Ashland and took the position. It was not only a blessing to see how my life changed but a breath of fresh air.”

The new Clocker coach wanted to make Ashland varsity softball the best program on campus, and although he was totally impressed with the seniors, he was unsure how they felt about him.

“I wanted to raise the bar with this team. A bunch of them have been playing together since they were four or five years old,” he said. “When I walked into the room for the second time, everyone was all in, very welcoming, and gave me their full support.”

Along with Sasso, the new coach brought in four assistant coaches to help with the transformation. Aiding the new coach have been Pam Curtis, the assistant coach; Sab Liston, the pitching coach; Kass Register, the outfield coach, and Say Costa, the catcher and hitting coach. Liston, Register, and Costa were all former players under Sasso at Ana Maria College. Jess Kelly is the Junior Varsity Coach. 

“Pam and Jess had a relationship with the players, so it was important to keep them on the staff. They also brought a passion to the game,” Sasso said. “I also wanted to bring in three phenomenal players that I had coached at Ana Maria to give us an unbelievable coaching staff.”

With the coaching staff intact, Sasso went to work bringing structure to the team. When they get off the bus, the team marches onto the field together and does the same thing following the game. 

“I told them that with structure we will rise, and they all embraced it,” the coach said. “It’s a mission, and they are definitely having fun, loving the game of softball, win or lose.”

Having played the game for so long, many of the Clocker players possessed a very high softball IQ. All they needed was the structure and fundamentals, and they would be able to turn around the program, which had not been all that successful over the last decade. Sasso was also installed in the team to look forward and not backward.

Caching in his first season as the Clocker skipper, Sasso wants to take it one small task at a time: win one game, then go out and win two in a row, with the ultimate goal being to bring excitement back to the Ashland softball program. Eventually, you get into the tournament, where anything can happen once you're there.

At the time of this writing, Ashland has been able to secure more wins this season than they had in the previous four. The Clockers are 9-2 and have really impressed the new coach with what they are able to accomplish on the field.

“We want to have fun while being competitive in each and every game. If we do that, then we have a chance to win,”  Saso said. “So far, we have been able to win those close games by doing the little things. These girls have shown that their softball IQ is off the charts and higher than some college athletes.”

Sasso is also very prepared for each and every time that his team takes to the field. He scouts every opponent, knows all of their tendencies, so that he knows how to prepare his team to be in a positive place. He also told his team that he would put them in the very best place they can be going into a game, all they have to do is execute.

“The pieces are starting to come together, and we are just getting started,” Sasso said. “I am happy that we are 9-2, but there is still work to be done. It’s the beginning of the vision that I had for them; the crystal ball doesn’t work, but the girls are starting to shine.”

Sasso’s vision of improving the softball program is moving in the right direction, and with the influx of young players on both the junior varsity and varsity teams getting better, so will this team as it moves into the future.