Saying goodbye to a great group of seniors is always the toughest thing to do at the end of any sports season, but it’s especially tough for ADM softball head coach Rick Dillinger.

Being that this was just his first season at the helm of the ADM program, he had to rely on his seniors to provide stability and leadership, and his girls did that… and more.

“All of our seniors will be very hard to replace, but we’ve already asked the kids, ‘who is going to take the steps to replace those girls?’.  The beauty of it is those (senior) girls have the program headed in a very positive (direction) and they can look back at this season as a very positive experience I hope.”

While the Tiger softball team hasn’t yet had their end-of-season banquet, Coach Dillinger shares with us some of the parting words he’ll give his five senior girls as they bid each other farewell.

“I think that kids who participate in sport–any sports–normally do have some success in life later on.  We wish them great luck and they’ll always be part of our ADM softball family.  I’ve told them I expect them to come back, visit me in the dugout, see me in the offseason and stay in contact–I think that’s a precious thing.  It’s why I coach the sports as a family.”

The ADM seniors that were so important to Rick Dillinger’s “family” this season were Caitlyn Gruening, Amanda Seiler, Hannah Tiffany, Jo Tigges and Jessica Wyant.