BETHEL—Fresh out of college after working to get her Master’s degree, Azariah Bowden was in-between jobs and wondering what direction her new life would take her.
A close mentor suggested the varsity softball job at Bethel High School was an avenue to explore.
Bowden, a former player at Danbury High School and in college, had been coaching with the CT Impact travel program and was intrigued about taking on a high school program of her own.
She applied and recently got the job to take over the Wildcats, replacing Jill O’Connell, who stepped down after last season.
“Bethel is very excited to have Azariah take over as the head softball coach,” Director of Athletics Mark Caron said. “Azariah has a wealth of experience as both a collegiate player and a coach at various levels. Her positive energy, enthusiasm, passion, and knowledge of the sport set her apart from other candidates. With her leadership I think she will make an instant impact on the resurgence of our program in SWC play.”
After graduating from Danbury, Bowden attended Eastern Nazarene College, where she was a four-year player.
She followed that up by attending Boston University to get her Master’s in Counseling Psychology and Sports Psychology. She graduated this past May and returned home to start the rest of her life.
Part of that journey now takes her through nearby Bethel, where she takes over for a program that went 8-12 last season, sneaking into the CIAC playoffs by winning four of its last six games. The Bobcats lost to Mercy, 3-2, in the first round of last year’s Class L state tournament.
It was actually her connection to New Fairfield athletic director Mark Ottusch, whom she had gotten to know through softball, that led her to Bethel.
“I’m excited to take over at Bethel,” Bowden said. “Growing up, I was playing for the Danbury Crush—before they became the Storm—and we were always running into Bethel teams in tournaments. It was always great competing against them.”
One of the things Bowden wants to do is raise the competitive level of the team.
“I want to bring that competitive spirit and play back to Bethel,” she said. “
Over the past few summers, Bowden returned home to give back, helping to coach some of the Danbury Storm teams.
This year, she joined the CT Impact program.
Bowden played basketball at Danbury, as well, but it was her love of softball—both the speed and cerebral part of the game—that she enjoyed the most.
“I loved both, but something stood out about softball,” she said. “How fast the game moved. Chess is my favorite game and I always thought of softball being like chess. I just always loved it. Something always draws me back to softball.”
Life lessons that she learned on the field are still with her today and that, too, is something she wants to pass on to her Bethel players.
“I love those lessons, especially when I was growing up,” Bowden said. “Those are the lessons, they didn’t just help me in my college career but my career outside of college, as well.”
Failure is part of the game of softball. Moving on from it is vital to a player’s, and a team’s, success.
“As a coach for Impact, I’m teaching the girls you can do everything right in a game and come up short,” she said. “It’s not about the result but how you bounce back, what’s your next move?, not just a result in that moment.”
One of Bowden’s first moments at Bethel is forge a tighter bond between the high school and the town’s youth program, as well.
“It’s very important for them to have not only access to the proper resources and tools, but starting at the youth level, I want to give them access to camps,” Bowden said.
She also wants her high school program to feel close to one another as they do battle in the always tough and competitive SWC world.
“I would say the biggest challenging even is keeping team cohesive throughout the season,” Bowden said. “Sometimes, you get to the end of the season and for some teams its just, ‘I want to get out of here.’ I want us staying focused, especially as we try to get a spot in the SWCs or states beyond that.”
More than anything, though, Bowden is looking forward to the challenge and competition that comes with being a varsity high school coach.
“I’m a competitor at heart,” she said. “Even after my softball career was over, I’ve found ways to stay competitive, be it through pickleball or games against my brother.”
A new competitive challenge awaits Bowden at Bethel High School.
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