ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - During the week of May 20, it was announced that long-time Sheldon Huskies softball head coach Mary Jo Truesdale was retiring, ending her 27-year career with the Huskies. 

Coach Truesdale retires with nine section titles, 17 league championships and 26 playoff appearances in her 27 seasons for the Huskies. 

Truesdale said for the past 15 years she’s gotten to the end of the season and asked herself if it was time to retire, and the deciding factor this season was her age. 

“My age has something to do with it and I think knowing that the team is in good shape, we didn't win a section championship, and not everybody's graduating so I'm not leaving the team decimated,” Truesdale said. 

The Huskies are a section-winning team waiting to happen, Truesdale said, which is why she was at ease with her decision to retire. 

“I'll miss them dearly and it wasn't an easy decision, but I have to factor in things like I'm still in good shape, I've got my health and I want to be able to go out on my terms,” Truesdale said. 

This announcement was a surprise for the players, and they were sad, Truesdale said, but they were happy for their coach's next chapter in life. 

They all gave me a hug and wished me well and I'm still in touch with them and they know that I'm only a phone call or a text away and that I plan on seeing them at the alumni game and in playoffs next year,” Truesdale said. 

One of Truesdale’s former players, Shannon Tuua, who was the Sacramento Bee’s player of the year in 2002 and later played at Cal Poly, was met with mixed emotions once she heard about her retirement. 

“On one hand, I am so happy for her. No one deserves it more. I am proud of all that she has accomplished and admire all that she has done for the sport and all of the lives she has impacted. I felt a huge sense of gratitude to have been coached and mentored by a great woman,” Tuua said.

Another former player of Truesdale’s, Alexa Joyner, said she wasn’t surprised to hear this announcement and had a feeling it was coming soon. 

“I told her jokingly I fully expected her to be coaching until she is 90 years old. I am sad to see her go but happy for this next stage in her life,” Joyner said.  

Despite this, Tuua said she feels sad to know her retirement will leave a hole in the softball world, and Truesdale will be missed. 

Softball was introduced to Truesdale at a young age in Michigan, where her P.E. teacher would take her and other classmates around the state to play against different teams in the summer. 

“I learned the game of softball through her and her generosity, her unselfishness and she taught us about the other side of the game in terms of how to win, how to lose, how to be good teammates, all of the other parts of the game besides the game itself,” Truesdale said. 

After high school, Truesdale attended Albion College, where she played basketball due to not having a softball team, but played once she transferred to Michigan State a year and a half later. 

Once her college career concluded, Truesdale taught and coached pretty much everything. 

“Right out of college I started coaching basketball, softball, volleyball and you name it, because back in the day you coached everything and I taught high school Spanish, high school P.E., elementary P.E. and all kinds of things,” Truesdale said.

Then she moved to California where she would teach Spanish and coach softball at Elk Grove High School. In 1997 she helped to open Sheldon High School, which was the beginning of a historic coaching career for Truesdale. 

“We opened with just freshmen and sophomores, and we went varsity the first year and by the second year we were in playoffs and that's all she wrote. With nine section championships later we've built a solid program,” Truesdale said. 

The influence from coaches early in her career correlated to her coaching style, but it evolved as time went on, Truesdale said, as she said she used to be strict but slowly realized that wasn’t her as a person. 

“If you know your athletes you're going to know how to coach them, also knowing the parents, not getting distant from them. You've got to involve not only the athlete but the parent in the progress of their child, and I think that has been a part of my success,” Truesdale said. 

For Tuua, Truesdale’s coaching style helped her both on and off the field. 

“On the field, she pushed us to be our best. She worked just as hard as we did, making sure that we were well prepared. She encouraged us and fostered a positive team environment that allowed her players to push beyond their limits without fear of making a mistake,” Tuua said. 

Truesdale instilled values like respect, integrity and perseverance, making sure that players celebrated their successes without arrogance and faced setbacks with resilience and composure, which all translated into life off the field, Tuua said.

The communication from Truesdale is what helped Joyner throughout her career as a Husky. 

“Coach always had her doors open for us. If I ever needed to talk or just a place to go to reset mentally, I knew her classroom door was always open,” Joyner said. 

Once the ball got rolling for Truesdale and the Huskies, they racked up wins and section banners, which Truesdale said is due to talent and taking care of the little things. 

“I was fortunate to coach a lot of very talented players, and you can't do that (win nine section titles) without talent; you really can't,” Truesdale said. “I think the success came because we took care of the little things.”

Truesdale gives many examples as to what the little things were for the Huskies over the years, whether that was taking care of academics, making sure they were connecting with the teachers, making sure their uniforms were ready the night before and many more.

“Coach always said, ‘Make sure you take care of the little things because the little things are what make the big things happen,’” Joyner said. 

Another reason was rewarding their players with what became her famous marbles. 

“Another thing is that I believe in giving them a tangible if you win a game, you should get something, and so years ago I started to give them a marble if they won a game and it caught on like wildfire,” Truesdale said. 

This was introduced during Tuua’s senior year, when she thought they were silly, but she was able to see the development of this tradition and the meaning of it. 

“As the season went on, those marbles and the tales of how Coach came to collect them to bring them back to us began to take on a much bigger meaning. Receiving our marble after a win felt good: We had worked hard and had earned that marble,” Tuua said. 

This was different for Joyner, who began to play for Truesdale two years after Tuua, and she said she loved the marbles. 

“Receiving a marble after a win meant we left 110% on the field and everything we had been working so hard for paid off. All the blood, sweat and tears that went into the season was reflected in each marble. I still have all my marbles today,” Joyner said. 

At a certain point, Truesdale even began to color-coordinate the marbles according to the team they were playing, and she said she has a big box of marbles she’ll be passing on to the next Huskies coach. 

Aside from the success on the field, Truesdale in 2022 was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the second high school coach to achieve this honor. 

“It’s unbelievable; I'm so blessed and grateful to have been given that award. Some of my family from Michigan were able to attend, and fellow coaches from across the country that I know were seated at my table. I'm still in shock about it,” Truesdale said. 

Being able to build her hall-of-fame resume as a Husky means a lot to Truesdale, who said she knew since the first year the school would be special and also said that she will always be a Husky.  

“It's wonderful and I wouldn't have traded these last 27 years for anything. It's been one of the best educational experiences of my life working with the world language department, the athletic departments, all the athletic directors, the administrators and the counselors; they were just great,” Truesdale said.

Now that Truesdale’s legendary career is over, she said she has many memories to be able to look back on and remember with fondness. 

“I think of the field, all of the memories that we made together, all those laughs that we had, all of the times we hugged, we cared about each other,” Truesdale said.

Tuua said she’ll remember Truesdale’s love for the game among other things. 

“The joy it brought her to be out there with us coaching a game that she loved radiated. Her sense of humor: She always had jokes. Our theme song, ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ And, obviously, the marbles,” Tuua said. 

For Joyner, she’ll remember car rides with Truesdale in her Jaguar with the top down. 

“Morgan Otto (shortstop class of 2008) and I rode to the CIF section championship game in the Jaguar with the wind blowing in our hair the entire ride blasting the radio. It was such a great memory with coach,” Joyner said. 

Another memory Joyner mentioned was when players would wrap athletic tape around their wrists with inspirational words or phrases on which Truesdale joined in on, and Joyner still has some of the tape to this day. 

Truesdale said she’d like to be remembered as someone who loved what she did and cared for every one of her players. 

“I never wanted them to ever be hurt or unhappy; I wanted them to feel successful. I know you can't always have that happen and that there were players that many times didn't feel that way because the game is a game of failure, but I did my best,” Truesdale said. 

Genuine is the word that Tuua used to describe Truesdale as a person. 

“She is still there to listen when I have things going on in my life and is there to give advice when I need it. She has a true love and compassion for people but none more than the love she has for her players. She always says, “Once a Husky, always a Husky” and she has shown that to be so true,” Tuua said. 

An overall great person is how Joyner describes Truesdale away from the field. 

“She always looked out for us on and off the field. She wanted us to be the best players, students, and people we could be. If I ever needed advice or guidance, she was always there for me. She will forever be my coach,” said Joyner. 

Retirement plans for Truesdale include visiting her sisters in Michigan, playing golf, a trip to Hawaii early next year, maintaining her health and reconnecting with former players. 

And she said she wants to live a good life for as long as she can.