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Amy Chellevold
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From around 2009- ASU web site- Amy Hillenbrand's vast experience as a national-level softball player and champion offers a good complement to the Mike Candrea staff's baseball-like instructional regimen. Hillenbrand -- Chellevold during her playing days -- is in her sixth year on the staff. A determined participant as a player, she puts the same verve into the Wildcat dugout. This time around, she will serve as a volunteer coach. Hillenbrand has worked as an elite athlete representative for the ASA board of directors for the last 10 years, and also sat on the board oversight committee. She has also served on the selection committee for the U.S Women's National Team since 2004, and now serves as the athlete representative to the U.S. Olympic Committee for the sport of softball. One of the greatest players in NCAA softball history, she initially joined the staff in December 1995, six months after trying her hand in marketing and sales. In past years, she participated in international ball, playing for the U.S. Team which won the gold medal in a World Championships tournament in Japan in the fall of 1998 and competed in 1999 for a spot on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team. Hillenbrand was also the team leader for the U.S. in the 2003 Pan-American games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Hillenbrand is Arizona's first four-time All-Pac-10 selection (1992-95), a distinction she shares with former Wildcat sluggers Leah Braatz, Jenny Dalton, Laura Espinoza, and Olympians Leah O'Brien and Caitlin Lowe. They and fellow UA All-Americans Susie Parra, Nancy Evans, Jamie Heggen, Debby Day and Jody Pruitt, among others, were the nucleus of UA's NCAA juggernauts of the 90s. A three-time All-American, she left the college game in 1995 as the NCAA career leader in hits (371) and runs (252), plus finished at UA with a career batting average of .415, the top mark on Arizona's chart until Alison McCutcheon eclipsed her mark in 1998. Hillenbrand's career average is one of only nine Wildcats above .400. Dalton erased her career runs scored mark in 1996. O'Brien erased the UA career batting average mark in 1997. Hillenbrand played first base on Wildcat teams which combined for a 232-24 record, a .906 winning percentage, two NCAA championships and three Pac-10 championships. Hillenbrand graduated from Thousand Oaks, Calif. High School in 1990. She attended UC-Santa Barbara for a year on a volleyball scholarship then transferred to UA to play softball the following season. She earned her bachelor's degree in exercise sciences from Arizona in 1995. Amy married Mike Hillenbrand in 2001, and has two children: Lauren, 6, and Brock, 3. From around 1997- ASU web site. A good complement to Mike Candrea's baseball-like instructional regimen and Stacy Hill's young coaching talents is assistant Amy Chellevold's vast experience as a national-level player and champion. Chellevold, 25, enters her third year on the staff. Her early growth in work outside the lines has been a big plus to Arizona softball. A determined participant in the game, she brings the same verve into the Wildcat dugout as a young coach. One of the greatest players in NCAA softball history, she joined the staff in December 1995, six months after trying her hand in marketing and sales. Chellevold is Arizona's first four-time All-Pac-10 selection, a distinction she shares with former Wildcat sluggers Jenny Dalton and Laura Espinoza, and Olympian Leah O'Brien. They and fellow UA All-Americans Susie Parra, Jamie Heggen, Debby Day and Jody Pruitt, among others, were the nucleus of UA's NCAA juggernauts of the 90s. A three-time All-American, she left the college game as the NCAA career leader in hits (371) and runs (252), plus finished at UA with a career batting average of .415, the top mark on Arizona's chart and one of only two above .400. Dalton erased her career runs scored mark in 1996. O'Brien erased the UA career batting average mark last year. Leadership-by-example is tough for a coach -- being off the field. Yet Chellevold's competitiveness has been part of the 1996 and 1997 Wildcats' style. Additionally, she and Stacy Hill were able to take on increased roles in some of the administrative and recruiting processes so critical to an elite program like Arizona's. "Amy is one of the finest players to ever play the game," Candrea says. "Her rapid development off the field really helped the NCAA championship team in 1996. It's not a given that a good player can be a good coach, but Amy seems to have that skill." Along with her NCAA career records, Chellevold's name is in this year's version of the Wildcat record book 27 different times in numerous offensive and defensive categories. She played on Wildcat teams which combined for a 232-24 record, a .906 winning percentage, two NCAA championships and three Pac-10 championships. "That kind of experience brings a lot to a program," Candrea said. Chellevold graduated from Thousand Oaks, Calif., High School in 1990. She attended UC-Santa Barbara for a year on a volleyball scholarship then transferred to UA to play softball the following season. She earned her bachelor's degree in exercise sciences from Arizona in 1995. She is single. Return to Roster | Back to Ventura Athletes |
