Todd Gilbert returns to coach Cascade Softball

Arguably one of the most successful coaches in the history of Cascade High School is returning to the field to coach softball. Todd Gilbert was the head coach of the Cascade Fastpitch Softball team for 14 years, winning seven league titles along the way.
He’s been away for five years, but now has decided to come back.
“My son graduated high school last year, was done playing baseball. Tayor (daughter) finished playing college softball a couple years before that. The reason I went away from it was to watch and support my kids in what they were doing. When it came back available, it seemed like a natural fit,” Gilbert said.
Ken Krous has coached the team for the past five years, but decided to step down. The last three years, Gilbert has been coaching middle school softball, which is much less time demanding. He has missed the kids and the level of competition. He’s excited to get back.
“I think the program is in a pretty good position having worked with the girls that have gone through to the high school. There’s a good core group of girls playing. I think we’ll compete pretty well right out of the gate,” Gilbert said. “We have some girls in the seventh and eighth grade group that are good athletes and have been playing club or tournament ball. They will be good contributors when they get there. I think we are doing pretty well.”
The Caribou Trail League is much different than when he left. Five years ago, the Kodiaks were by far the top dog in the league and now it is more balanced.
“I like competition. I think it is good for the league to have more competitive teams to raise the level of the league,” Gilbert said.
So what was the secret to his success? For off, you have to have good players, he said.
“We just had a run of girls who were really into softball and worked really hard at it. Several of them would play in the summer on club teams. Softball was one of the things they were really into. A lot of them were good athletes,” Gilbert said.
Basically, he just built on that.
“We built around strong pitching. That always gave us a chance to compete. We’ll try following that same formula. We’re in high school, so we’ll take the talent and do the best we can with them,” Gilbert said.
Certainly, there were some fantastic softball players come to through the Cascade program during his tenure. Coming back as his assistant coach is one of the best, Taliyah Riddick Waters, who excelled mostly as a pitcher, but was also a fine hitter.
“We have Taliyah as a JV coach and pitching coach. That’s great for the girls. She’ll bring a lot of knowledge and experience about the game of softball and specifically pitching,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert said he is already starting to line up some things for next season.
“The more I do that, the more excited I am for the season to begin,” Gilbert said.
Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.