At 64, Minnesota's all-time winningest softball coach is far from retirement
WINONA, Minn. — Pat Bowlin has hit a few fungoes in his life. In Winona, Cotter's season opener, Bowlin became Minnesota's all-time winningest softball coach.
"It meant a lot," said Bowlin. "It meant a lot to a lot of people including myself, my family, our school, the players I'm currently coaching and the players that I've coached in the past."
"I was one of the only kids that knew," said senior starting pitcher Madison Hazelton. "It wasn't me playing for my team. It was me playing for him because I really wanted to make it happen our first game."
Bowlin's career started in the 1980s with a dominant run at St. Bernard's in St. Paul. He's already added on to the record mark of 803 wins in his 40th year of coaching softball.
"I don't hunt, I don't fish. I love sports," said Bowlin. "I love coaching young people and helping them to become the best version of themselves. So for me, this is a great avenue for me and I've always enjoyed it."
The win record is for softball, but that's not all Bowlin does. He's also the head girls' basketball coach. And for a time, he served as the athletic director and head football coach at Cotter High School.
"It's changed a lot, quite honestly," Bowlin said of the coaching profession. "Parental involvement is a lot different. Quite honestly I'm a little bit isolated here in Winona. We've done a really good job of parents understanding that it's my job to coach and it's their job to be a parent."
At 64 years old, Bowlin says the finish line is a long way away.
"I'm going to be coaching for a while, as long as my health remains," said Bowlin, whose oldest grandchild is 7. "I give all the glory to God. I've been incredibly blessed in my life and I love coaching. I always have."