Leaving at the Top of her Game
By Adam de Jong
DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
adejong@media.ucla.edu
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Thirty-one years, 11 national championships. And seemingly overnight, the run ends.
UCLA softball coach Sue Enquist, who has played for or coached all 11 of the Bruin's title teams, will step down from coaching effective Jan. 1, UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero announced on Tuesday. Enquist has not completely left UCLA, as she will now serve as director of major gifts for the UCLA Athletics External Relations Office.
According to Enquist, 49, it was a decision that had nothing to do with any personal strife or health concerns. After an illustrious career that built UCLA into the first and only softball dynasty, and following her team's eighth straight appearance in the Women's College World Series, Enquist said she decided in the early summertime that it was time to walk away. |
"It's extremely difficult to say goodbye to all those players," Enquist said. "It was a shock for them. While I'm sad that they were surprised, I didn't want to run out of gas."
Several members of her softball team and the UCLA athletic department have implored her to stay, considering how young she is to be entering retirement. To call Enquist's retirement unique is an understatement – she's leaving while her No. 1 recruiting class is entering the program. But Enquist said she always wanted to leave while still on top, rather than hang around too long.
"I really wanted to leave while I was still in love with everything," Enquist said.
The past two months have been spent getting a permanent coaching staff in place to make the transition as seamless as possible.
Longtime assistant coach Kelly Inouye-Perez has been named Enquist's successor, and she will take over in January. Gina Vecchione will stay on as an assistant coach.
Inouye-Perez, who has hired former Bruin great Lisa Fernandez as an assistant coach, had a hard time putting into words exactly what Enquist means to UCLA softball.
(Enquist) is a legend in our sport," she said. "She encompasses everything about UCLA softball. It's so big to me, but she keeps it so simple. She's not replaceable."
Enquist was the program's first All-American player in 1978, helping the Bruins win their first softball title that year. After she graduated in 1980, Enquist served as an assistant coach under Sharron Backus. From 1989 to 1997, Enquist co-coached the program with Backus before completely taking over the duties. Since then, she has won three more titles.
Enquist was softball's first inductee into the UCLA Hall of Fame. She has the highest winning percentage of any current or former Division I coach (.835). The biggest blemish on her legacy was a recruiting violation that prompted the NCAA to erase her 1995 NCAA title from the record books.
Perhaps of more symbolic worth, Enquist was the first scholarship softball player for UCLA – a university that is largely responsible for the growth of American softball.
Enquist has been an integral player in the transformation of her sport. UCLA was building a softball dynasty in the 1980s and 1990s while other programs across the country were just in their infancy.
"I'm so proud that UCLA has invested in the softball program and other sports that aren't always on the front page of the newspaper," Enquist said.
While the Bruins no longer dominate the WCWS like they once did, Enquist has repeatedly pointed out that the increased parity is a tribute to the growth of softball in recent years. As she abruptly ends her tenure as UCLA's coach, Enquist insists she will remain an ambassador for her sport.
"I love the game and I will continue to be a loud voice for softball," she said.
Over the years, Enquist has been unofficially given the title as the second wizard of Westwood. Her comparison to John Wooden has as much to with her relationships with her players as it does her string of titles.
"Sue was about life as much as she was about softball," said Stacey Nuveman, who is the all-time NCAA leader in home runs with 90. "What she taught superseded any fielding, hitting or softball lessons. She made sure every player walked away with a degree and life lessons."
As Enquist prepares to hand over her program at the start of the new year, she admits her decision has prompted a lot of questions. But she maintains her humble approach, even as she ends the most storied run in the entire sport.
"I didn't want to be the person who talked about retirement for 12 months," she said. "A lot of people have tried to talk me out of it. Maybe they're just testing my decision.
