Huron hires Sage to lead softball program

HURON — Hailee Sage has been involved with softball since she was five years old, so it was no surprise that she was interested in applying for the Huron head coaching job. Sage was approved for the supplemental position at Monday night's school board meeting. "I've always been interested in the job ever since we moved out here in 2020," Sage said. "I live in Huron, I live a half mile from the softball field. I have passion for building athletes, instilling good confidence and teamwork and all of the great characteristics that are the reasons you put kids in sports in the first place." Sage and her husband, Sam, who graduated from Huron High School, moved to Huron from California in 2020. The coaching job opened up after Jude Schmidt stepped down at the end of this past season after leading the program for seven years. Sage has no high school coaching experience, but knows her way around the diamond. She is in her fifth year of coaching travel softball. The roster of her Savage Elite 16U team includes Huron shortstop Lucy Hinners. "My priorities are family, school and softball," she said. "I have two young kids (ages 3 and 4 1/2) and I have two on the way (twin girls due at the end of August). My kids will be out on the field and my players always value that and respect that." Sage is a 2008 graduate of Newbury Park High School in California. She was a standout catcher in high school and played at Eastern Illinois University from 2008 to 2012. She also coached briefly at Lake Land College in Mattoon, Illinois, while she was in graduate school at EIU. "I'm a super passionate coach," she said. "I have high standards and expectations, but I also try to meet players where they're at. Am I as competitive as they come? Absolutely. Do I want to win championship? Absolutely. But there's a lot more to winning. "If we can get girls' fundamental skills to improve, if we can create well-rounded kids, if we can win academically and from a community service perspective, those are all wins for me. I have a very positive approach when it comes to softball. I live to build kids up and make them fearless." Sage, the publisher of Sandusky Bay City Lifestyle magazine, also offers private coaching lessons at a facility in Monroeville. She interviewed for the Huron job last week and accepted it Friday. Her supplemental coaching contract will pay her a salary of $5,852. "She knows some of the girls already," Huron athletic director Matthew Ayers said. "They'll be super excited to work with her." Sage is not the only former high-level athlete in her family. Sam Sage was an All-Ohio football player for the Tigers and went on to play for Ohio Dominican University. Sarah Sage — Sam's sister and Hailee's sister-in law — was a star volleyball player at Huron who played for UCLA. She clinched the Bruins' 2011 national championship with the final kill of the match. Sam and Sarah Sage both were inducted into the Huron Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.