In the ever-changing world of fastpitch softball, there are always great obstacles to overcome to achieve excellence for both athletes and coaches. These obstacles can be a variety of things and they play a big role in your success. Researching and collecting factual information, I discovered that coach Thomas Flanigan has delivered the athletes of North Texas and helped them achieve unthinkable goals.

Coach Thomas Flanigan is a father, husband, family man who finds ways to spend his time with North Texas athletes to ensure their growth as athletes. Let’s be honest; the most valuable thing you can give a person is your time.

Coach Flanigan began his coaching career in 1999 with Team Express, at that time working long hours with his employers, sometimes 60 hours a week as Co-Manager. However, he was able to give back to the community by helping young athletes reach their true potential, and he also found a way to spend time with his family. In fact, in 2004, while he was co-CEO of Wal-Mart, he was named a “HERO” award with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The “HERO” award is the most prestigious award given by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The award is based on many factors; the most weighted factor is someone’s contributions to the community.

In 2004, as the coach of Texas Elite, his team was honored with the Sportsman Ship Award and Trophy at Nationals in Arkansas. His team finished third. Based on research, it’s rare to be in the top 5 if you’re a team from Texas. Even rarer to receive the award for sportsmanship when placed so high in a national tournament.

After the 2004 championship season, Coach Flanigan teamed up with Dan Adkins Glory. In 2005 he led a team to a 12th place on the Nationals as a Glory Team. Although her employers demanded long retail hours, she found a way to help others.

In 2006, coach Thomas Flanigan led his team to a National Championship, something that had never been done before on any North Texas team. California traditionally owned the majority of the National Championships, usually placing in the top 4. A great achievement to say the least for your Glory team. In fact, Texas has two national championships, one was the Cruisers when Kat Osterman pitched them to a title, and the Flanigans team coach. In 2007, his team suffered some key injuries in the starting pitching rotation. Even with key injuries in his rotation, his team made it to the top 12 in the Hall of Fame Championship held at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma. This secured his place in the Nationals. His pitcher would not return from injury, broke his ankle, until Nationals week. Still, Team Glory traveled to California and placed 27th at the National Championships.

In 2008 there were some differences between Kevin Shelton and Dan Adkins, both longtime Glory leaders. They are friends today; however, that did not change the division of the Glory organization. During that time, coach Thomas Flanigan was approached to move his team to the Kruzers and was offered a sponsorship to do so.

In fast pitch softball, sponsors don’t really exist. The burden of fees generally falls on the parents and sometimes the coaches. Having the opportunity to have a financially free team and focus on skills was a huge bonus. The team decided to make the move and coach Thomas Flanigan accepted the head coach position. Previously, he was the head coach / manager of other teams he operated with. The duties of a head coach and a manager are quite different. He was able to devote all of his time to training athletes. Before, I was dealing with team fees, player registration, rosters, and parents. Now, he was able to focus on pure softball, Ron Withee, the team manager would take care of all the other aspects. Including rosters, insurance, player signings, etc.

In 2008, coach Thomas Flanigan led the Kruzer team to a Hall of Fame Championship in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, another first for North Texas. The team finished seventh at the National Championships in 2008. In 2009, the team finished 12th in the Hall of Fame Championships and also claimed another birth for the National Championships.

In 2009, Kruzer’s team was disqualified from the National Championship for having an illegal player on its roster. I had to dig deep to find answers to this, as Coach Thomas Flanigan has impeccable experience based on handle information and background checks from coaches. While the rules in the manual are open to interpretation and difficult to understand. The finding indicated that a player registered under Dallas Metro who played in a National Qualifier is not eligible to be a pickup player for a Ft Worth Metro team for Nationals.

This is where the rules were overlooked by team managers. I don’t think the team manager tried to break the rules for registering a pickup player? When the team manager asked to register the player as a Ft Worth Metro player and add her to the roster as a pickup player, is it legal or not? At this point, the rulebook doesn’t state it. However, it is the JO of that Metro who approves the registration, and in this situation, it was the responsibility of the managers to follow the channels to register a player. At some point the JO or Team Manager should have known, would you think? In fact, based on the information I collected, the JO or the manager of the team registering the player would know about it through some online communication or registration channel. There is a lot to say about it. The fact is, Coach Thomas Flanigan was the head coach of the team, regardless of who signs up the players or who signs the roster, who approves the registration, who is responsible for him, or I would say he’s open to opinions for sure.

Is the team manager responsible for all aspects of the team that I know of, including getting rid of players, coaches, etc.? Yes! The team manager is not only responsible, but also responsible. Again I base this on ASA facts about who is ultimately responsible, and it is not the head coach, it is the designated manager of the team that took over and has full responsibility for the team, coaches, parents, records, etc. In most teams there was only one person designated to play both roles. Most are listed as head coach / manager.

Do not blame anyone, including the Team Manager / Sponsor. Based on the information I gathered, the Kruzers management did everything by the rules. Unfortunately that didn’t work out and the team was disqualified. The ironic part of the story is that the pickup player was young, two years younger than the current team members, and was added to the roster as a pickup player for emergency services if necessary. In fact, the athlete never stepped onto the field in any of the team games. Ironic?

Coach Thomas Flanigan has overcome obstacles and taken young athletes to places only a few have been. In 2009, North Texas lost a great coach; leader and motivator for fast pitch softball. Unfortunate for North Texas athletes. Unfortunately for the athletes he mentored for years, the best result for the Kruzers has been 33rd since his departure. My research proved valuable, and I only write on the basis of facts, I do not hear sayings or rumors. I couldn’t find any suspension, nor any factual information indicating that Coach Flanigan had been suspended for one year for having an illegal player at the Nationals. Once again, I verified that the team was disqualified. Digging as deep as I could, I discovered that coach Thomas Flanigan left fast pitch softball training for many other reasons.

First, I discovered that it is a cruel and somewhat evil softball world, at least for some in North Texas. How does someone make, or would someone make, ridiculous statements about someone they don’t know personally? Even a man with quality leadership, character, and strong will cannot take much. It is unfortunate that we lost a coach who has guided North Texas athletes through mentoring programs, clinics, and individual skills training.

I laugh when I write. Coach Thomas Flanigan can be the Bill Belicheck of fast pitch softball, love him or hate him. Even mentioning Coach Flannigan’s name with Bill is an exaggerated statement, to say the least. However, in the world of fast pitch softball, that’s what it is. Would you play for Bill? Ummm yes! However, I still hate him, because he is not training my team. Train my team’s competition.

In my most recent research, Coach Thomas Flanigan is in umpire school and plans to umpire at the Division 1 fast pitch softball level, and I also recently learned that he can make the decision to re-coach fast pitch softball. . Could this be true? If so, North Texas would be honored to have you coach here again.

Thanks for reading my article.