While most of the campus lay dormant during spring break, the softball field is anything but quiet.
A dugout of El Camino College athletes shout encouraging chants as they battle the Citrus College Owls on Friday, April 18.
Standing proud in the field, arms crossed and head high, is head softball coach Jessica Rapoza.
Rapoza keeps careful track of the game through black sunglasses as she pitches advice to her athletes.
She has been the head of the ECC softball program for 11 years, but the coaching world counts by wins rather than years—and she recently reached 400 of them.
“I don’t remember the wins and the losses,” Rapoza said. “But I remember seeing an athlete come into me with not a lot of confidence and leave with the most confidence in the world.”
Second baseman Lilly Lewis, a 19-year-old business major who’s in her second year on the team, said Rapoza is supportive and encouraging.
“She loves us so much and she makes that known and we feel that,” Lewis said. “She believes in us, we believe in her.”
Much of the love Rapoza has for her athletes stems from her own background on the other side of the game.
Rapoza was involved in softball since childhood. She later played for Point Loma Nazarene University and the Arizona Heat and gained an understanding of what it’s like to face adversity.
“No one really needs your kudos in good days. It’s the bad days that you really need somebody who remembers what it felt like to have a bad day,” Rapoza said.
Yet adversities for her team go farther than the rough days on the field.
The softball team has battled a lack of resources, such as an outdated field itself, which she’s passionately advocated for the renewal of.
“My athletes don’t get the same experience as not only our own athletes, our male counterparts, but not the same experience as other local schools that have put a lot more into their softball program,” she said.
ECC has announced plans to replace the softball field as of April 2025.
Rapoza is not only a coach but a model for her athletes as she exemplifies true sportsmanship and civility amidst her and her teams’ successes.
“We’re always going to do things the right way,” she said. “We’re not going to sacrifice our integrity for a win.”
Yet while stern in her values, she’s soft in her character.
Utility hitter Savanna Kastigar, a 20-year-old biology major in her first year on the team, reflects on a tradition Rapoza holds with her athletes before every game.
“She’ll force you to make eye contact with her and she’ll tell you a compliment before each game,” Kastigar said. “She says something that’s really sweet and that’s very inspiring.”
Rapoza’s encouragement not only propels her athletes, but Kastigar credits her coach for playing a vital role in her recruiting process.
Rapoza is making an extensive effort to reach out to schools on her behalf, and Kastigar has already received two offers.
“It makes life so easy when you’re trying to play at the next level,” Kastigar said.
Having quit the sport after experiencing burnout, advancing in softball was something Kastigar hadn’t envisioned for herself, but she was drawn back in by Rapoza.
“She has the ability to make you love the sport if you fell out of love for it,” Kastigar said.
At the final inning of the April 18 game, Rapoza’s calm confidence turned into a joyful exuberance as she gathered and cheered alongside her athletes as they celebrated an 8-0 win.
“You want to win, not only for yourself, but because she’s such a good coach,” Kastigar said. “So you want to win for her too.”
