Strunk named Lady Seahawk softball coach
Newly hired Franklin County High School softball coach Dirk Strunk has his work cut out for him.
He’s stepped into the coaching vacancy left by Scott Collins, who over the course of 11 seasons overseeing the Lady Seahawks programs, amassed a combined 176-103 record, a slew of district titles and regional appearances, high state rankings, and a realistic shot most years at a Class 1A state title.
Following last year’s 16-12 season, in which the team finished as regional runner-up, Collins decided to step down, and devote time as an assistant football coach and to dote on his first grandchild.
“It’s time to give someone else a chance at the helm,” he said. “I’ve had a great run and had the privilege to coach not only outstanding ballplayers, but kids who were dedicated to both academic and program success.”
Strunk has no intention of remaking the Lady Seahawk program, which did not lose a single player to graduation this past spring.
“This is not a rebuild,” he said. “This is to continue on with what Coach Collins built. This is a program that these girls have the expectation, and already get that they are supposed to win.”
A former high school football, soccer and strength and conditioning coach, both for the Seahawks and for other programs in his lengthy high school career, Strunk is not lacking softball experience in his 21 years as a coach in Alabama, where he took teams into the postseason.
In fact, he’s had all four rising seniors among his Franklin County players in his weightlifting program. “It’s a talented bunch,” he said.
While he plans to continue to build muscle on his players, with a focus on strength and conditioning, Strunk plans to ease off a rigorous year-round regimen of competitive games that has begun in October and continues on into the spring season.
He’s opted for a lighter intramural schedule beginning in November. “I want to remind them that softball is fun,” he said. “There have been times at certain parts of the year where our kids are never off. You need some time to catch your breath (to) focus solely on the upcoming season.
“They have a big giant target on their backs,” Strunk said. “This is one of the best programs in the state.”
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.