LHU Athletics Press Release

June 17, 2004
Lock Haven Coaches Contribute to Olympic Spirit

(Lock Haven, Pa.) - Not only can the Department of Athletics at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania boast about former wrestler Sara McMann who will challenge for Olympic gold this August, but two members of the coaching staff will also be making a contribution to the Olympic spirit. Fifth-season head softball coach Kelley Green will direct a squad of past and present Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) all-stars and several local high school standouts against the Greek Olympic Team in July. Fourth-year assistant volleyball coach Gen Kawakita turns his attention to the USA women’s national volleyball team during the summer, this time around helping prepare the squad for a run at Olympic gold.
Coach Green, along with Bald Eagle Area High School’s Dave Breon, was selected to coach the contingent of PSAC and local high school all-stars in a doubleheader against the touring Greek Olympic team on July 12 at Hess Field in State College. The Greek Olympic team, which consists of athletes with dual citizenship (Greece and USA), will be in the midst of a six-city tour in the

United States.

LHU Softball Head Coach
Kelley Green will coach a team
of PSAC all-stars against the
touring Greek Olympic team.

“I am honored that the ASA (Amateur Softball Association) has asked me to coach and select this team,” said Green. “It will be a great experience for the players selected and myself to be a part of the Olympic development program. I am looking forward to working with this group of talented athletes from the PSAC. We are all excited for the opportunity to give the Greek team challenging competition in preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games.” Included on the roster are two former Lock Haven standouts, Lynnette Murray and Jocelyn Tutrani. Murray, a 2003 graduate and the Haven’s only softball All-American, owns the school career record in RBIs (81) and set single-season records in at bats (164), doubles (15), stolen bases (37) and RBIs (40) during the 2002 campaign. Tutrani, a recent 2004 graduate, ranks eighth in single season at bats (139; 2002) and was a four-year starter and an All-PSAC West player for the Lady Eagles handling duties at third and first base.
LHU assistant volleyball coach Gen Kawakita has served as an assistant for the USA women's national volleyball team.	Out at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, the Haven’s Kawakita has been working out with the USA women’s national volleyball team and readying the squad for the Olympic games. Now in his fourth summer as a volunteer assistant under national team head coach Toshi Yoshida, Kawakita’s responsibilities lie in training daily with the players. “At times I’ll have the charge of working with some of the younger players, but for the most part I play against the team everyday, hitting a lot,” said Kawakita. “It’s exciting and a great experience, and I can use these training and instructional skills I pick up here with the team at Lock Haven.” As a four-year veteran of the training sessions at the Olympic Training Center, Kawakita says that the atmosphere has a definite change in Olympic years, and that the USA team has gotten even stronger, both physically and mentally, as it prepares for a trip to Athens. Just this past week, the United States finished second in the Montreux Volley Masters tournament, defeating the world’s top-ranked team from China in straight sets to advance to the finals. The United States finished fourth at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
In addition to McMann, Green and Kawakita, Director of Athletics Sharon Taylor is also involved with sport on the national and international level, serving as the president of the United States Field Hockey Association (USFHA) since 2001. Alumni Colleen Hacker ’78 adds even more Lock Haven flavor to the Olympic Games in her role an assistant coach and mental skills coach for the USA women’s soccer team, a position she has held since the early 1990’s.

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