College softball: Tough decision for Ridgewater coach
· Yahoo Sports
Jul. 10—WILLMAR — The decision was incredibly hard for Jordyn Swoboda.
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The Ridgewater College softball coach really didn't want to resign after one season as head coach and after three years in the program.
"I wanted to stay," Swoboda said. "I just couldn't do coaching with my full-time job."
Swoboda is a marketing strategist and multi-media manager for St. John's University and the College of St. Benedict. She works in Collegeville and the commute to Ridgewater was time-consuming for the Willmar High School graduate.
"It made it difficult to build the program like I wanted to," Swoboda said. "It's not just a spring job."
Recruiting, scheduling and managing practices were all part of the time commitment.
"I actually struggled to make the job what I wanted it to be," she said. "What it basically came down to is that right now, I had to choose."
Swoboda let assistant coach Morgan Flann know at the end of the season about her need to resign.
Swoboda said she expects Flann to do an excellent job. The toughest part of leaving was informing the team, she said.
"I hated to tell the girls," Swoboda said, adding that she had a close relationship with them and really enjoyed coaching the team.
Ridgewater went 9-14 under Swoboda, qualifying for the Minnesota College Athletic Conference South Division playoffs. The Warriors lost a best-of-three series to heavily favored Central Lakes College in Brainerd, two games to one.
The team ended the season with 10 first-year players and hope that a good recruiting class could have Ridgewater in the top tier of the MCAC. Swoboda said she believed Flann can continue that goal.
"She's someone who career-wise and school-wise has the time and passion to make it work," Swoboda said.
Swoboda is a St. Benedict graduate who enjoys her job. She also enjoys coaching and isn't ready to move past that pursuit, either.
"I definitely will find a way to get back into it," Swoboda said. "I loved the girls and and believed in them and I hope they have a great season next year. I'm excited to follow them and see what Morgan does with them."
Swoboda spent two seasons as an assistant to head coach Callie Danielson, who resigned after the 2025 season. Danielson had been the pitching coach at St. Benedict, where Swoboda played. Danielson's father, Guy Nelsen, was Willmar High School's long-time head softball coach, leading the Cardinals for 24 years in a run that included eight Central Lakes Conference and five section titles. He led Willmar to one second-place and two third-place finishes at the state tournament before retiring in 2006.
"It was a great three years," Swoboda said of her time at Ridgewater.