Beloved softball coach Andrea Mondadori-Llauget won her 300th game as West Essex softball head coach on April 25 with a dramatic splash as the Knights shut out Millburn, 9-0.
“I think the reality set in on how long I’ve been here for because I feel like I’ve been here for five seconds, and then when you reflect on 300 wins, it’s like, wow,” Mondo said. “You start thinking about all the players that you’ve had over the years and all the accomplishments that we share.”
Mondo’s coaching career began in 2002 when she became an assistant coach for the Knights and took over the role of head coach four years later. Her love and passion for softball have grown over the years, and she loves forming connections with the players and coaches on the field. Winning championships alongside these people she has grown to know so well is special to her.
“I guess [my favorite part of coaching is] building relationships with the players over the years,” Mondo said. “Taking a team that’s average and getting them to play up to a county championship, state section championship or into a league and where you just succeed at a certain level that you work hard for … That’s the best part of the job.”
Mondo says her love for the sport started as a child, when she played softball in Rutherford with her sisters. As she grew up, softball was a consistent part of her life, and she learned a lot about life from her time on the field.
“You use sports as a life lesson, and every challenge that we face in the game, whether it’s getting a certain out or picking up your teammates … is something that you’re going to use in your life,” Mondo said.
In her 20 years as a coach, only skipping the season lost to COVID-19 during 2020, Mondo says she’s learned that patience is key. She says she realizes some seasons don’t start off hot, being in the American Division, but always highlights how the team has to trust the process and use their drive to win. She admires how sports and team chemistry have helped her team reach their goals and overcome some of the biggest challenges they’ve faced.
“You’re building relationships and friendships, and overcoming a very big goal that you might have to work really, really hard for,” she said. “And I think that’s important that [players] know that if they can accomplish something like this, and play at the level we play at and the teams we play, they can kind of accomplish anything in their life.”
