Coach Nelson will be moving from the position of assistant softball coach to head coach this season. Coach Nelson comes to Lake Land College from Heartland College, where he was instrumental in taking Heartland to a 38 & 12 record and a 3rd place finish at the 2008 NJCAA National Tournament in Heartland College softball’s inaugural year. Head Softball Coach Nic Nelson brings a wealth of experience to Lake Land. He is an instructor, coach, clinic administrator and the owner of The Practice Factory, with locations in Normal and LaSalle/Peru. Nic hails from Mattoon, Illinois and graduated from Mattoon High School and Lake Land College before completing his B.S. at Illinois State University.
Nic has coached softball at every age level. He was an ASA Junior Olympic Coach for many years. He has coached at Parkside Jr. High School in Normal. At the high school level, he has had coaching stops at Bellflower, Champaign Central and Normal Community West High School. He has also coached at the collegiate level at Lincoln Christian College.
Because of his own love for the game and his recognition of the value of giving young people an opportunity to experience other cultures, he has taken 35 baseball and softball teams overseas and coached these teams in Cuba, Australia, Japan, Great Britain and Canada. His teams have played against the national teams of Cuba, Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, Venezuela, France, Canada, Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands, as well as the state team of Queensland in Australia.
Nic spends his off season time with the organization Elite Softball which he co-founded. His summers and falls are devoted to finding talented high school and jr. high school softball players, systematically evaluating their skills, and then helping these players improve their talents in the Elite Softball Program. Since Elite Softball’s inception eight years ago 187 softball players have verbally committed, signed, played, or are currently playing college softball.
Nic and his wife Kathy, a special education teacher at Heyworth High School, are the proud parents and have shared the enjoyment of softball and baseball with their three sons and one daughter. Sons Nicolas, Chris and Spike all played college baseball, while Megan is the starting shortstop for Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL.
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