Rebels push coach past milestone

INDIANAPOLIS

David Lauck had braced himself for the fact that his eighth season as the Roncalli softball coach would be his last.

Then life happened.

“I had plans to move on once I got the athletic director job,” Lauck said. “We had appointed a new coach who has been on the softball staff for six or seven years. And she’s a teacher in the building.

“But her and her husband had a child, so she came to me over the summer and felt like she couldn’t coach at the varsity level as a head coach. So I decided to stay on board.”

In doing so, he recently achieved a noteworthy career milestone with his 200th victory.

Roncalli’s 7-1 home triumph against Southport on April 11 improved Lauck’s overall mark to 200-56 (.781). The Rebels didn’t sit on that number long, blanking Beech Grove 13-0 the following afternoon for a nice gift on what was Lauck’s 41st birthday.

Lauck, a 1994 Roncalli graduate, first served as a Rebels’ assistant softball coach for three seasons (2006-08) before taking over in 2009.

He’s guided the program to six sectional championships, four regional crowns and the Class 3A state title in 2011. Bumped up to Class 4A the next year, Roncalli advanced to the Center Grove Semistate before losing to eventual state champ Plainfield 3-1.

In March 2016, Lauck, the school’s assistant athletics director for four years (2012-16), was promoted to athletics director beginning this school year.

He succeeded the retiring Dave Toner.

Doubting whether there were enough hours in the day to be both an effective administrator and head coach, Lauck has been pleasantly surprised.

“It was out there that once I took the athletic director position that I would give up softball. That was kind of the plan,” Lauck said. “It just never happened.

“But I absolutely love this team and the assistant coaches. It’s kind of a blast. I’ve taken time to reflect on the responsibilities of athletic director and head coach. I feel a lot better about the situation, and feel I can continue on in a positive way.”

More focused on his team’s improvement than any numbers that might be placed next to his name, Lauck credits those whose coaching careers began long before he was filling out lineup cards.

“It’s a testament to the softball played on the southside,” he said. “You have Center Grove’s coach (Russ Milligan), who has three times as many wins as I do, and coach (Kathy) Stricker at Franklin Central with three times as many wins as I do.

“We get great kids with great parents and support from the administration. And, yeah, it’s translated into 200 wins.”

Actually, it’s 201. And counting.

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THE LAUCK FILE

Name: David Lauck

Age: 41

Born: Indianapolis

Family: Wife, Kara; daughters, Olivia, 16, and Aubree, 5; sons, Trevor, 12, and Eli, 10.

Favorite TV show: “Anything on the History Channel”

Favorite food: Pizza

Favorite movie: “Rudy”

Favorite athlete: Sammy Sosa

Favorite team: Indianapolis Colts

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Mike Beas
Mike Beas is the Daily Journal's veteran sports reporter. He has been to more than 200 Indiana high schools, including 1990s visits to Zionsville to profile current Boston Celtics GM Brad Stevens, Gary Roosevelt to play eventual Purdue All-American Glenn Robinson in HORSE (didn’t end well) and Seeger to visit the old gym in which Stephanie White, later the coach of the Indiana Fever, honed her skills in pickup games involving her dad and his friends. He can be reached at [email protected].