Elaine Schwager enters her fifth season at the helm of the Merrimack College softball program.
With a 17-win improvement from 2008 to 2009, Schwager earned the title Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year following the Warriors' fourth place finish and trip to the 2009 NE-10 Semifinals. In the coaches' preseason poll, Merrimack had been picked 12th.
Schwager's final win of 2009 in the Northeast-10 Conference first round against Southern New Hampshire (1-0) also marked her 200th career win in the college ranks. A former head softball and volleyball coach at Suffolk University, Schwager has amassed a career softball record of 200-203 in ten seasons of coaching.
Schwager guided the Warriors to a 23-20 record in 2007,
leading her team to the finals of the Northeast-10
Championship.
Before coming to Merrimack, Schwager was the head softball coach
at Suffolk University
for five years. During her tenure, she led the team to two ECAC
New England post-season tournaments. She was 100-82 over five
seasons and was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Coach
of the Year in 2003 and 2005. Also the head volleyball coach for
two years, Schwager helped lead the Rams to GNAC Tournament
appearances in both seasons.
Prior to her time at Suffolk, Schwager was the head softball coach
at Regis College for two years. She also spent two years as the
head coach of the Croatian National Softball Team.
Schwager also had stints as an assistant coach at Boston
University and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. In
addition, she’s had extensive administrative experience,
including time spent as Associate Director of Athletics at Suffolk,
Senior Women’s Administrator at Suffolk, and Director of
Athletics at Mt. St. Joseph Academy.
Schwager recently opened her own fitness center - Fitness For You,
Inc. in North Andover, Mass.
