Suzy Willemssen 

Fairfax Station, VA

As a young girl raised in Waterloo, Iowa, Suzy courageously blazed the trail to become the first female accepted into the boys baseball program. She proved herself as an all-state player in softball, basketball and volleyball throughout high school. Subsequently, at university, she went on to play softball for her alma mater - The University of Iowa - where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Physical Education. Today Suzy is not only the head coach of VA Glory-Willemssen 18u team but also the founder of its travel organization: Glory!

Suzy was appointed as the head coach of O'Connell High School, succeeding legendary Tommy Orndorff after 8 successful seasons at Lee HS in Springfield. In her tenure, she deservedly achieved VISAA Division 1 State Coach of the Year title for 2022, 2021 and 2019; leading her team to an impressive state championship win during those years too. Furthermore, Suzy received the Conference Coach of the Year award both in 2017 and 2015 while with Lee. To top it off, in 2020 Suzy was notably rewarded with Triple Crown Sports's first-ever Joan Joyce Trailblazer Award - a fitting recognition to cap off her incredible career.

Suzy is an acclaimed 4-Star Master Coach for the NFCA, a certified S2 Cognition mobile laboratory, OnBase U accredited and a Denny Tincher endorsed pitching instructor. Possessing immense experience from 40+ years as both player and coach or mentor, Suzy has earned her fame nationally through leading seminars and workshops on character development in sports at diverse youth, high school & college softball camps/events. Her trademark traits are enthusiasm combined with purposeful passion.