EL SEGUNDO HERALD September 9, 2021 Page 11
Deb Hartwig from front page
New York City. She moved to California in
her teens, landing in the North San Diego
City of San Marcos, where she attended San
Marcos High School and played both softball
and basketball. She garnered MVP and League
Player-of-the-Year honors while in high school
and then matriculated to Saddleback College
in Mission Viejo.
A catcher on the diamond, Hartwig helped
the Gauchos not only to win a state championship,
but personally received accolades
including all-conference, all-region, and
all-state honors. Down the road, Hartwig
was inducted into the Saddleback College
Hall of Fame.
Her collegiate career continued at Cal State
Fullerton (CSF), where she was coached by
the iconic Judi Garman, who, when she retired
in 1999, had notched the most wins of any
collegiate softball coach at that point in time.
During her tenure at CSF, Hartwig not only
picked up a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Kinesiology but was recognized twice as
an All-American by the Amateur Softball
Association.
After graduation, Hartwig began her softball
coaching pathway, leading travel-ball
teams and serving as the varsity coach at San
Marcos High. Among her coaching stops: assistant
coach of travel-ball powerhouse Team
Texas; volunteer assistant coach at CSF; and
a four-year stint as an assistant coach at San
Diego State.
Along the way, Hartwig has burnished her
resume while toiling at, among other jobs,
serving as director of a coach’s certification
and training program for the SoCal ASA;
directing big-time collegiate tournaments,
such as the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic
and the Judi Garman Classic; and speaking
at and working at numerous softball clinics
throughout the country.
Hartwig moved to El Segundo in 1998.
After serving a two-year stint instructing at
the Total Baseball facility on Grand Avenue,
she decided to open up her own business.
She said she could not secure a site in El
Segundo, although she bid on many buildings.
Through connections, she was able
to secure a building in Carson, and that is
where JustSOFTBALL has thrived for the
past 20+ years.
So here is some of Hartwig’s backstory:
She moved to California when she was
13 and developed a love of sports in her
youth, playing baseball until she was 13, a
year in which she displayed her horsehide
prowess and was selected to be a member
of the local Babe Ruth All-Stars, a team
that made it to the New York championship
state-tournament. Hartwig said she was the
first girl team member in history to make it
to the Empire State championship tourney.
It was while Hartwig was making history in
New York that her Mom and brother relocated
to Southern California.
Once she landed in Cali and started attending
high school, Hartwig said that the
baseball opportunities were still available to
her, but she chose to play softball instead
“because I needed friends.” She also played
basketball, putting her “heart and soul in it,”
she said, but alas, Hartwig soon discovered
that “I was much better at softball.”
During her tenure at Saddleback College,
Hartwig again played both softball and
basketball. As her stint at Saddleback was
concluding, Hartwig said she received more
softball offers from four-year colleges “so I
took the softball route” to the campus of CSF
in 1988, which had captured the Women’s
College championship in 1986.
She soon decided that she wanted a future
that would include instructing and teaching
kids. “It was at Fullerton where my love
for teaching kids really flourished,” Hartwig
said, mentioning that Coach Garmin and her
players would participate in local clinics that
the school utilized as fundraisers.
At one point, Hartwig said that she was
hoping for a career as a schoolteacher. But with
her passion for teaching sated by participating
in softball clinics, she soon realized that “I
didn’t want to teach at a school, I wanted to
teach softball. And teach kids from all over
the place, not just in one area.”
So, she displayed her passion for teaching
by becoming a coach. She thought her
coaching days were over when she moved
to El Segundo more than 20 years ago, but
serendipitously, Hartwig said that she walked
into the newly opened Total Baseball facility,
and quickly nabbed an instructing gig
there, and developed a client list of more
than 300 students, which led her to start
JustSOFTBALL.
Let’s hear from a couple of elite softball
players who have benefited from their association
with Hartwig.
Tiare Jennings is a rising star in collegiate
women’s softball. If you check out the Oklahoma
University website, the sophomores’
stats will amaze you. “I met Deb when I
was eight years old, and she is my hitting
coach,” Jennings emailed. “Not only is she
my hitting coach, but she is also family. Deb
is someone I look up to because she is so
knowledgeable about softball and is really
invested in each of her lessons.
“One of my favorite things about hitting
with Deb is her technology. I am a visual
learner, and the technology she uses makes
me a better player. She breaks down the
physical and mental parts of the game and
pushes me to be better.
“I wouldn’t be the hitter or player I am
today if it wasn’t for Deb,” continued Jennings.
“She has helped me not only with my
swing but has the best advice on and off the
field. Her hard work and dedication to her
athletes never go unnoticed; she is a perfect
role model. I can’t thank her enough for
everything she has done for me to make a
be a better player, hitter, and person.”
Susie Parra had a brilliant softball career
at the University of Arizona, helping to pitch
the Wildcats to three national championships.
She added her thoughts on what makes the
lady known as “Coach Deb” so special.
“Deb is one of my best friends,” Parra
emailed. “We have worked together since
1996 doing camps, clinics, lessons, tournaments,
coaching teams together and on the
friend side we camp, desert trips, lake trips,
beach trips, basically enjoy life. If I ever need
help, she is always there to help.
“She loves to learn and stay up to date
on rules, techniques and technology,” Parra
said. “She is not afraid to ask questions or
go outside her bubble so she can bring that
knowledge back to her students and other
coaches. Deb is the friend I call or ask when I
don’t know something. Most of the time, she
knows the answer, but on that rare occasion
she doesn’t, she will find out asap. She also
associates with her students and colleagues
very well. Deb is just a big kid inside. She
has the passion and desire inside and passes
that on in her lessons. She is so proud of her
students, no matter what level they are. She
shares her love for the game will all of them.
“Deb is also a speaker for college coaches,
travel and rec ball coaches. She has no
limits. We have taken teams to Italy, China,
and Australia to compete internationally
as well as for the international experience.
Deb’s facility in Carson is a great place for
the kids and the parents to watch and hang
out. She usually has softball on the TVs, if
not then baseball or some sport. She has a
kid’s playroom so the siblings can entertain
themselves as well as snacks and drinks. She
takes pride in giving the kids a great place to
thrive and become better and enjoy the ride.
“Deb truly loves what she does.”
Hartwig said that she had always been
interested in art when she was in school,
but offered Art classes conflicted with softball
practices, so she pivoted to follow the
Kinesiology pathway. During her years at
San Diego State, she toyed with the idea of
attending art school and landed a job with
Fox Sports as a production artist. At that
point, Hartwig thought that she would be
leaving the softball stage, but then came the
fortuitous opportunity with Total Baseball.
“The Lord put me back in the softball world
again,” she said. After her tenure ended at
Total Baseball, she contemplated life without
softball. But she had an epiphany, she said
and conjured up the company name Just-
SOFTBALL one day, and within five hours
had designed her fledgling company’s logo.
And so, her softball instructing career took
another turn. “I was off and running,” Hartwig
said. She started instructing her students in
the local parks of El Segundo, then moved
her business to the Carson facility.
Of her recent triumphant experience in
Oklahoma City, Hartwig deferred any credit,
saying said that “We had the best players,”
while noting that the team from Texas, who
dropped the championship game 2-0, “is always
great competition (but) we were destined” to
prevail. Hartwig called the Oklahoma tournament
“a great experience, a destination event.
A great experience for everyone involved.”
Hartwig feels very fulfilled in following her
El Segundo path that she has embarked upon
for the past 23 years, citing many of her past
students who have grown into young women,
with many of her ex-students now mentoring
and teaching El Segundo softballers. “It
is very rewarding to see them carry on the
tradition, helping (young) players get better.
“It is fun to watch my young students become
young adults and then parents themselves,”
Hartwig said. “I actually have some of my
(ex) students who bring their children to me,
which makes me feel kind of old. It is fun to
watch people grow up.” Well, Hartwig may
“feel kind of old,” but it appears she still
has the softball fires burning inside of her. •
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included the Hyperion sewage spill and air
quality in the city. She also asked that the
city do a better job of involving the committee
on environmental activities and issues,
including being given data and details on
city projects so the committee can better
advise Council, chalking up the attrition
of committee members to frustration. She
mentioned the committee’s seven-year-old
ongoing unfulfilled request to survey residents
on their environmental concerns.
She also weighed in on the health issues
arising from the Hyperion spill. “The other
thing was on May 4th, I made a public
comment in front of everyone that I was
concerned for the City of El Segundo and
our environmental future, that I’m concerned
about Hyperion, the West Basin, our air emissions,
our cancer rates. Lo and behold, on
July 11th, we had the catastrophic Hyperion
spill. So that brings me back to my May 4th
comment. I am even more concerned now
since it’s September 7th and I still smell poop
in my house and I’ve had a sore throat for
going on a month.” She also called attention
to a senior citizen in need of help, saying
the individual was still “falling and fainting”
from issues related to the Hyperion plant.
Residents weighed in on the smoking
ban during the public comment portion of
the meeting, with several advocating for
it and noting nicotine’s impact on young
brains and its potential to lead to drug use.
In a 4-1 vote, with Mayor Pro Tem Chris
Pimentel the sole no vote, Council directed
staff to draft a report “regarding a citywide
smoking ban in all outdoor public areas as
well as common/open spaces of multi-unit
(3 or more) residential complexes.”
Other residents addressed the city school
district’s move toward diversity, inclusion,
and equity, which City Council later said
they have no jurisdiction over, saying the
two entities are separate. •