FINAL MESSAGE: Hun School softball head coach Kathy Quirk gives words of encouragement to pitcher Payton Poandl in a game this spring. Quirk recently announced that she is stepping down from the program after nearly 50 seasons guiding the Raiders. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)

By Bill Alden

As the Hun School softball team wrapped up its annual year-end banquet this spring, the players were hit with a bombshell.

Addressing the squad, longtime Hun head coach Kathy Quirk told the players that she was stepping down after nearly 50 seasons at the helm of the program.

“It was pretty emotional at the banquet, I kind of broke down,” said Quirk. “I said before you hear this from somebody else or you get an email, I am just letting you know that I have decided to step down as the head coach. They all kind of looked at me and then they gave me a standing ovation which was very moving.”

For Quirk, concluding that it was time to end that chapter of her life triggered a lot of emotions.

“I have to say it was a tough decision,” said Quirk, 75, who was inducted into the Trenton Softball Hall of Fame in 2014. “There were a lot of tears for me whether it was the right thing to do but I just think it is time. I have no seniors next year, so I don’t need to say that I have to stay for this one. I did promise Sam [Jolly] and Ro [Lacy] that I would stay with them and I did.”

While Quirk helped build Hun into a powerhouse during her tenure, her focus was on making sure her players grew as people during their time with the program.

“I tell them every year, it is not the wins and the losses, it is what you have learned as a person and how you have grown,” said Quirk. “It is the friendships you have made and the memories you will take with you. It is what they learn on the field and in the team room. I just hope I have given them something to make them a stronger woman and make them proud of themselves.”

One of Quirk’s former players, Lexi Kobryn, a 2024 Hun grad who now stars for the Villanova University softball team, made some great memories competing for the Raider program.

“I loved playing for Mrs. Quirk all four years, it was a great experience,” said Kobryn. “It allowed me to just play the game I love. She had a big drive to win and wanted us to do well. I really respected that. She really let us play loose. I would do it all over again.”

Kobryn credited Quirk with helping her through the ups and downs of her high school career.

“There were definitely some times through my four years where I hit a wall and she was always there to pull me aside and be like you got this, we believe in you,” said Kobryn, who has stayed in touch with Quirk and still texts her. “That really just always helped. Her and Mr. Quirk (Quirk’s husband and assistant coach Bill) were always in my corner.”

Upon taking the helm of the program in the spring of 1974, Quirk faced some tough times as she tried to make the Raiders competitive.

“It was like a church league team,” said Quirk with a laugh.

“The school was young with girls, we didn’t have a lot of girls.”

Quirk was able to bring in more girls and the team started to thrive.

“It was just getting kids to be interested in it and finding the right combinations,” said Quirk, noting that the program didn’t have a proper diamond at first and played on a grass field with a makeshift backstop. “It was not easy; it was a challenge. I have to say that some of the girls that played from me back then I am very close to now. We have nice friendships.”

In the late 1990s, Hun made a breakthrough as it won three straight Prep state titles from 1997-99. Under Quirk’s guidance the Raiders won 11 Prep titles, numerous Mid-Atlantic Prep League titles and she piled up nearly 500 wins.

“I have been coaching there 52 years, but 48 as the head softball coach,” said Quirk, who was inducted into Hun’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. “I gave it up a couple of years when my kids were little.”

In that half century, Quirk has coached a lot of great kids.

“I had Julie Fassl in 2014, 15, 16, and 17,” said Quirk. “She was just a great kid and super catcher for four years. I still keep in contact with her. The years that Lexi and Jamie Staub were with us, we won MAPLs
and states.”

In guiding her squads to titles, Quirk focused on the fundamentals.

“I am very disciplined, I am very strict; some people say I have mellowed over the years,” said Quirk. “It is just working hard to be successful. It is constantly drilling. We always did a lot of basics every single day. I think that is important.”

Quirk credits husband and assistant coach Bill with playing an important role in the program’s success.

“Bill is so great with the batting,” said Quirk. “I would always do the fielding and he would work with the batters. I always said as long as I can still hit a ball, I am going to still coach.”

But while the work on the field is critical, Quirk sees developing a positive chemistry around the team as the foundation for success.

“It all starts in the team room, we have a nice team room,” said Quirk. “We have a board up there for every girl that has won an award. We do an Iron Woman award; if you don’t miss a practice or a game, you get an award at the end of the year. That is more important to those girls than a varsity letter.”

This spring, Quirk’s final squad, which featured a number of young players, took its lumps but hung in there to go 9-9.

“It was a fun group, we were not a real talented group but we worked hard,” said Quirk. “I remember being in Florida and I said if were went .500 we are going to be lucky and we did go 500. We played strong competition and got beat up few times. We bounced back.”

As Quirk heads into retirement, she will feel a void when spring rolls around.

“I will miss the day to day interaction with the girls,” said Quirk, who plans to watch some Hun games next spring along with following her granddaughters’ athletic pursuits. “It has just been my routine for so many years.”

While ending that routine wasn’t easy for Quirk, she believes the program won’t miss a beat going forward.

“It was a tough decision,” said Quirk. “I know the program will continue to thrive and whoever they put in there will do well.”

Whoever succeeds Quirk, though, will certainly have some big shoes to fill after what she gave the program in her half century of excellence.