Sims brings high expectations to Hauser softball

Editor's Note: This is the first part of a series of stories on Hauser softball coach Craig Sims.

Softball was first introduced at Hauser High School in 1997. While the next 15 years did bring some periodic postseason successes, it wasn’t until the spring of 2012 that the Jets amassed their first season with at least a .500 winning percentage – finishing at 13-13.

That year also happened to be Craig Sims’ first at the helm of the Lady Jets’ program.

That .500 season served as a mere dress rehearsal for the program’s future. This last spring marked Sims’ 6-year stint at the head of Hauser’s softball program. Following that first year under Sims’ tutelage, the Jets went on to record a 101-30 record. Adding to the Jets’ dominance over the last five years include a current streak of five straight Sectional Championships, three Regional Championships, a Final Four appearance in 2016 and a State Championship in 2015.

That already impressive resume is also highlighted with six straight Mid-Hoosier Conference Championships. Suffice it to say that Hauser has become quite the softball powerhouse.

“Every time we took the field, we were getting everybody’s best,” stated Sims. “Everybody on our schedule wanted to beat us. They all had an asterisk next to us on their schedule and that’s a pretty special place to be.”

Growing Pains

Being a small school, Hauser’s softball program has never had large numbers. In fact, the Jets got down to the bare minimum – nine players – by the end of Sims’ first year.

“We had two quit and one other was kicked off,” commented Sims. “We had very high expectations for our players. As it turned out, that wasn’t for everybody. The nine players we got down to really bought into what we were trying to do and gave it 110%. That year really set the tone for our program.”

Sims readily admitted his high expectations and no-nonsense approach took some time for those around the program to get used to.

“Dave (Irvine – then Hauser Athletic Director) gained a ton of respect from me during that time,” said Sims. “I know he fielded a lot of calls and complaints during that time, but he stood by me and we were able to maintain the high expectations necessary to build a successful program.”

Secret(s) to Success

When asked what the key was to building such a successful program, Sims took just a moment to contemplate before constructing his response.

“We started a middle school program immediately,” said an enthusiastic Sims. “It wasn’t easy because we were on our own financially. However, we realized for us to be competitive and get where we wanted to be, we needed a middle school team.”

Sims went on to explain the expansion of the middle school program since its inception.

“We used to need 5th through 8th graders to field a team,” Sims said. “Now, we have a 5th-6th grade team and a 7th-8th grade team.” The middle school team now plays double-headers every Wednesday during the season against a variety of local teams – most of which are substantially larger schools (Seymour, Jennings County, Columbus…)