Introducing The Softball Coaches

POSE. The softball team poses for the camera to take a team photo. Coach Amy Drayer (far left) and Coach Tess Carmen (far right) had a memorable experience taking team photos and getting to see everyone in uniform for the first time. Photo courtesy of Northwest Sports Photography.

After the previous VHS softball coaches left at the end of the 2024 season, many were curious as to who the new coaches would be. Although both new coaches have been a part of the Vashon community before and have now returned, they are still somewhat unknown to the community.

Coach Amy Drayer is a 1995 Vashon Island alumni who has returned to coach, as well as advocate for the ferry system to get Vashon better transportation. She will also be replacing the interim director and become the executive director of Vashon Housing.

“I think I had a mitt in my hand, from the time I can remember there was a ball or a mitt,” Drayer said.

In her youth, she played softball first during her middle school years with the travel team, and then moving to fast pitch with the high school for about three years. After high school, she played pickup during and after her time in college. Outside being a coach and taking care of her work, Drayer enjoys playwriting and writing works of fiction. She also enjoys spending time with friends she has in the arts community.

Coach Tess Carman is a 2015 Vashon alumni who spends her free time subbing at Chautauqua, McMurray, and the High School. Carman was first introduced to softball when her family moved to the island, and she was told to pick a sport. She and her brother played baseball and softball through Vashon Youth Baseball and Softball before getting to the high school where she joined fastpitch. She has been playing softball since age 8, and has many fun memories. Her favorite memory is from her first game her freshman year.

“I caught a deep fly in left field with a backhand. And it like, threw me backwards. Like it was hard. It was a hard catch, and it was the third out for our first inning. I was really excited, because I thought I was a freshman and I wasn't gonna get to do anything,” Carman said.

She is excited to be back playing softball and coaching so she can experience the season in a new way. And while she knows that the current team is young, she is excited to push them and see how far they can grow.

“I'm pushing them to do their best on the field. That's all I really wanted out of softball. So it feels really exciting to just be able to put that out in the universe. Also, I can feel that these girls all really love the game, and I can see them taking my coaching advice and making so much growth already,” Carmen said.

Both coaches are excited for this new season and are anxious to see how far the team will get. They both have high hopes for the season and feel that as long as the girls have fun and learn, it will have been a good season. They want Vashon to know that they are happy to be home and excited about coaching this team.