Bob Coolen

Robert Coolen (born January 24, 1958) [1] is an American softball coach who is currently the head coach of the University of Hawaii's softball program.

Bob Coolen
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamHawaii
ConferenceBig West
Record1015–629–1 (.617)
Biographical details
Born (1958-01-24) January 24, 1958
Somerville, Massachusetts
Playing career
1976–1980Wesleyan
Position(s)Pitcher, Wide receiver
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1985–1989Bentley
1990–1991Hawaii (asst.)
1992–presentHawaii
Head coaching record
Overall1085–722–1 (.600)
Tournaments25–24 (.510)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2× Big West regular season (1994, 2013)
Big West Tournament (2013)
4× WAC regular season (2003, 2007, 2010, 2012)
WAC Tournament (2010)
Awards
2× Big West coach of the year (1994, 2013)
4× WAC coach of the year (2003, 2007, 2010, 2012)

Personal life and education

A native of Somerville, Massachusetts, Coolen was a multi-sport athlete at Wesleyan University, where he played wide receiver on the school's football team, a pitcher on the baseball team, and a member of the swim team. He turned down an appointment from the United States Naval Academy to play at Wesleyan.[2] He graduated from Wesleyan in 1980 with a degree in government and earned a master's degree in human movement from Boston University in 1986. Coolen and his wife Nanci have two children, Demi and Bo. Bo is currently the associate head coach for the baseball team at Westcliff University.[3]

Coaching career

Coolen started his coaching career at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, working as the head coach of the university's softball team and swimming team. In addition to his duties as the head coach of the two teams, Coolen also served as the equipment and facilities manager. Coolen left Bentley to join Rayla Allison's coaching staff at Hawaii in 1990 as an assistant.

Hawaii

After Allison resigned to become the first full-time executive director of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, Coolen was named the head coach of the Wahine softball team in 1992.[4]

Coolen and his staff led a 2010 Wahine squad that shattered the record for most home runs by a team in a single season, en route to a WAC championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament.[5] Following a win in the Tuscaloosa regional over #1 seed Alabama, Hawaii advanced to the Women's College World Series, the Wahine's first and only Women's College World Series appearance to date.

Coolen earned his 1000th win on April 13th, 2019 with a 5–2 win over UC Santa Barbara, joining Dave Shoji, Les Murakami, and Jim Schwitters as the only coaches to win 1,000 games in the history of the university's athletic department.[6][7]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (Big West Conference) (1992–1996)
1992 Hawaii 34–3313–237th
1993 Hawaii 24–359–238th
1994 Hawaii 51–1425–71stNCAA Regional
1995 Hawaii 47–2121–113rdNCAA Regional
1996 Hawaii 36–2515–176th
Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (Western Athletic Conference) (1997–2012)
1997 Hawaii 37–25–118–144th
1998 Hawaii 46–1522–82ndNCAA Regional
1999 Hawaii 35–2316–83rdNCAA Regional
2000 Hawaii 25–2411–92nd
2001 Hawaii 46–1816–42ndNCAA Regional
2002 Hawaii 35–2515–93rd
2003 Hawaii 40–2017–31stNCAA Regional
2004 Hawaii 28–3310–145th
2005 Hawaii 31–2112–62nd
2006 Hawaii 32–2210–73rd
2007 Hawaii 50–1316–21stNCAA Super Regional
2008 Hawaii 40–2110–73rdNCAA Regional
2009 Hawaii 30–2415–63rd
2010 Hawaii 50–1619–11stWomen's College World Series
2011 Hawaii 37–1814–74th
2012 Hawaii 44–917–31stNCAA Regional
Hawaii Rainbow Wahine (Big West Conference) (2013–present)
2013 Hawaii 45–1320–41stNCAA Regional
2014 Hawaii 22–287–147th
2015 Hawaii 32–2213–83rd
2016 Hawaii 24–308–137th
2017 Hawaii 26–238–137th
2018 Hawaii 23–277–14T–7th
2019 Hawaii 33–1614–72nd
2020 Hawaii 9–15[n 1]0–0–
Hawaii: 1015–629–1 (.617)398–262 (.603)
Total:1085–722–1 (.600)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Notes
  1. Season not played past March 11 due to COVID-19 pandemic

See also

References
  1. "UH SLAMS PAST ALUMNAE, 4-2". Hawaii Athletics. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  2. Reardon, Dave. "Hawaii softball: Bob Coolen still enjoying a grand old time". Hawaii Warrior World. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  3. "Baseball - 2019-2020 - Regular Season - Roster - #34 - Bo Coolen -". Westcliff Athletics. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  4. "Highlights from the '90s". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  5. Hays, Graham. "Hawaii aims for home run record". ESPN. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  6. "University of Hawaii softball coach Bob Coolen reaches 1,000-win club". Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  7. Carlson, Kainoa. "Coolen set to join illustrious 1,000 win club". Hawaii News Now. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
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