Staff Directory
- Title:
- Volunteer Assistant Coach
- Email:
Rick Pauly is in his third season as a volunteer assistant coachwith the softball program at USC Upstate. He will assist in everyaspect of the program.
Pauly has an extensive coaching, instructing and playingbackground in fastpitch softball. Prior to coming to Upstate, hespent one season as the pitching coach at the University of SouthCarolina from 2009-10. Prior to that, he spent five years as headcoach at Spartanburg Methodist College from 2004-09, leading theLady Pioneers to back-to-back Junior College World Seriesappearances in 2008 and 2009. He led SMC to a fifth-place finish in2008 and a ninth-place finish in 2009.
Pauly’s fastpitch roots go back to his playing dayswith his hometown team in Wisconsin, the Menomonie Blues, andprogressed through his days of playing with the nationallyrecognized and ASA National Champions the Madison Farm fromMadison, Wisc. As a player, Pauly competed in 11 ASA or ISCNational and World Tournaments and also competed with MadisonFarm at the U.S. Olympic Festival Games in 1987 and 1991. While still competing, Pauly was a State ASA Fastpitch PlayerRepresentative in Wisconsin and was also instrumental in theformation of the Western Wisconsin ISC Travel League. He is aformer ASA Men’s Fastpitch All-American.
Since the completion of his playing days, Pauly has beeninvolved in coaching fastpitch at all levels of the game. Focusingprimarily on pitching, he has coached at the 14U, 16U, 18U and 18Gold levels of travel ball, spending many years with thenationally ranked Lil' Saints of Phoenix, Ariz. While inArizona, Pauly was a volunteer assistant coach in the Arizona highschool ranks, leading nationally-ranked programs at both MountainPoint and Desert Vista high schools in Phoenix. Since movingto South Carolina, he has coached travel ball, including helpingstart the Carolina Elite organization alongside current Upstateassistant coach and Elite head coach Bryan Pack. He has remained anassistant with the Elite since the organization was founded in2007.
Pauly has spent a lifetime studying pitching in addition to hisoverall knowledge of the game. He has helped develop several youngpitchers to pitching prominence, including his daughter, Sarah, whowas a Division I All-American at Texas-Corpus Christi and whocurrently plays professionally in the United States and Japan. Heis a high-level softball pitching clinician and through hisindividual teaching has helped many pitching students progressto the collegiate level.
In his efforts to service all levels of the game, Pauly servedas the President of the Fastpitch Division of the Mountain PointeLittle League Association and also as the President of theFastpitch Division of the Ahwatukee Little League Association inPhoenix, Ariz.
Together with his daughter, Pauly formed PaulyGirl Fastpitchcompany. They travel the country and into Canada hosting their HighPerformance Pitching clinics. Their softball pitching trainingvideo and pitching analysis software are just a few of thepitching-specific products they have developed.
Pauly and his wife, Joan, reside in Duncan, S.C., and have beenmarried for 35 years. Their daughter, Sarah, splits time living inFlorida and Japan as a professional pitcher and their son, Jesse,is an Animation Architect living in Phoenix, Ariz.
