The Lakes softball team has had tremendous success over the past few years, and behind this success is Coach William Hamill. Hamill has coached the team for 18 years and has had numerous winning seasons. He has 4 regional championships under his belt with this team, over 300 wins at Lakes, and was the softball coach of the year in 2024. 

Hamill coached baseball for many years but switched to softball due to having daughters and not wanting to miss their games. This switch has proved to be fruitful for Hamill and the Lakes softball team by allowing him to build positive relationships and a positive team environment for the organization. 

“We do a lot of team bonding, team dinners, and just working as if we are one big family,” Hamill said.

This positive environment has led to many fond memories for the players and Hamill himself. He builds strong connections with his players, so much so that some of his players have invited him to their weddings. He makes such a large and lasting impact on his players and is a great influence to them. 

Many core memories have been made for Hamill himself. His favorite memory is from a match-up against Antioch when the Eagles fought back against a more dominant team.

“2 years ago, when everyone was talking about Antioch and their team, nobody looked at Lakes to do anything,” Hamill said. “We won regionals, we won the first game of sectionals, and in the sectional championship, we had Antioch down, and they hit a last-inning home run to beat us.”

Antioch ended up finishing 2nd in state last year, but the Lakes team came out of nowhere and almost took them out of the running. Even with a loss in the sectional championship, it was the moment that Lakes Softball was put on the map.

He doesn’t just help create great memories for the players but also develops their skills and character along the way. 

“Every year is different; building players and characters is the main focus. The wins will come from the previous two accomplishments,” Hamill said.

This development for his players is shown with many of the Lakes softball players going to play at the next level. This year, they have two players going to the next level: Senior Olivia Tautges for Ave Maria University and Junior Zoey Christain, who is committed to play for Grand Valley State University. Athletes going to play at the next level is something many coaches strive for, and Hamill has done it year after year. This accomplishment reflects the level of commitment he has to the team and his players individually. 

The softball program’s season is still progressing. They have hopes for a long postseason run and to have a great last season for their four seniors.