In her first year as a softball coach, Amber Derbidge said she wanted to use the motivational techniques she learned as an English teacher at Arroyo Grande High School to motivate her players on the field.

Her techniques, which included heavy doses of positive reinforcement and team building, paid off as the Eagles shared the PAC-7 League title.

For her success, Derbidge is the Santa Maria Times' All-Area Coach of the Year.

“It really was about coming together as a team and building that respect for each other,” Derbidge said of her coaching style. “ It's all about motivating students to rise up to their potential. I modified that (from the classroom) and brought it out on the field.”

Paso Robles, Atascadero, San Luis Obispo and Arroyo Grande were PAC-7 quad-champions.

Derbidge had a lot of help from many talented players including the Times' All-Area MVP, Krissy Mackiewicz.

Mackiewicz, a First-Team All-PAC-7 League player, hit better than .500 and led the league in home runs with four.

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Teammates Chelsie Rodriguez and Alyssa Giordanengo join Mackiewicz on the All-Area Team. So do Mariah Cochiolo, Laycie Zepeda and Caitlin Voss of St. Joseph; Elisa Ayala and Amanda Baldonado of Righetti; Alyssa Ray and Courtney Dosa of Lompoc; Cali Abenido of Nipomo; and Caydi Dommeyer of Santa Ynez.

The Lady Eagles looked like they would own the PAC-7 title all alone after a game late in the season against Paso Robles.

Arroyo Grande‘s First-Team All-PAC-7 pitcher Rodriguez hit a grand-slam home run in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs to lift her team to an 8-7 win over Paso Robles. The Lady Eagles were down 7-0 at the beginning of the inning, and Rodriguez got the first hit to spark the rally.

“That was such an amazing turnaround in that game,” Derbidge said. “Everybody produced in that lineup - it was something that took them all to believe in themselves. It sounds cheesy, but they all had to go out and believe they could do it.”

Unfortunately, every game in the PAC-7 was a battle and the final two games did not go in Arroyo Grande's favor. San Luis Obispo and Atascadero each beat the Eagles in the final two games of the season to knot the standings.

“As far as the two losses,” Derbidge said, “Anything can happen in softball, and it did. There is always a little bit of luck involved.

“We still came out on top,” she added.

Arroyo Grande's season included a championship title in the Cabrillo Softball Tournament and a fourth-place finish in the Arroyo Grande tournament.

But perhaps more importantly, Mackiewicz was the type of player that got the job done whenever a softball bounced her way at shortstop.

“Krissy is such a talented player,” Derbidge said of the junior. “You watch her move, and she is so fluid and graceful.

“As far as fielding the ball, I definitely had confidence in her ability. She had the speed and agility and mindset to do well,” she added.

Mackiewicz is also an AP student who plays soccer and runs cross country.

Derbidge also gave kudos to her strong coaching staff which included assistant coach and former AGHS player Jessica Dean, pitching coach Carrie Sowell and assistant coach Bobby Chow.

Arroyo Grande (8-4 PAC-7, 15-10 Overall) finished its softball post-season drive with a 4-3 loss to Long Beach Wilson in a wild-card game of the Division II CIF Southern Section Playoffs.

June 14, 2007