PETERSBURG – Alex Lipka grew up in a family that was hooked on sports. It’s no surprise that he is now coaching multiple sports at Summerfield.
Lipka, the Bulldogs’ varsity football coach for the past three years, was named recently as the next Summerfield varsity softball coach, Summerfield Athletic Director Kelly Kalb confirmed.
“My aunt played softball at Wayne State, my mom played softball and coached with me at (Allen Park) Cabrini,” Lipka said. “Our whole family is involved in sports and coaching, too.”
Lipka said his priority is to build a culture around the Summerfield softball program, increase the number of girls on the varsity team and to create more general interest in the sport at the school, especially at the youth levels. The Bulldogs have a storied softball history, including winning state titles in 1984, 2010 and 2011, but have suffered from a lack of numbers in recent years.
“When I came here it was shocking to me that there was no junior varsity team,” Lipka said. “To have success, you have to build from the ground up. You can’t expect all freshmen to come in ready to play or to sit on the bench until their junior year then be productive. There is a learning process. They need reps, they need to play.”
Lipka is a Cabrini graduate who got his first coaching job at 18 when he became an assistant football coach at Cabrini. In his final year of student-teaching while attending Wayne State University, he became an assistant softball coach for veteran coach Debbie Norman at Cabrini.
“She was a big influence on me,” Lipka said. “I had her as a PE teacher. She was a great coach and I learned so much from her and being with Cabrini when they made some of those long tournament runs.”
Lipka is currently a physical education teacher and strength and conditioning coach at Summerfield.
He said building a program up isn’t always about winning.
“You have to establish a culture, a culture where people want to play the sport and where you learn the fundamentals,” he said. “It’s not always about wins and losses, but playing the game the right way, teaching the game the right way. The girls need to know the terminology and that starts at the youth levels.
“I’m excited to get going. We already have scheduled time to get into the batting cage with a couple of girls at a time. The season isn’t that far away.”
Ron Boisvenue has coached Summerfield for the past four seasons. The Bulldogs went 9-14 in 2021.
