As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, but that doesn’t always mean it leaves a sour taste. Last Saturday May 26, it was announced that Hofstra softball head coach Larissa Anderson has ended her tenure with the Pride and has taken up the head coaching position with Missouri University softball.

Anderson has been with the Hofstra softball program for 17 years, first as an assistant coach under Bill Edwards, then, in 2015, she took over as head coach. Throughout the years, the program has seen loads of success including 10 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) titles while she was an assistant with two conference titles through the four years as head coach, including the 2018 championship.

There is a lot she will take away from the program, some things having to do with her coaching abilities and others are on a more personal level.

“[I learned] so much,” Anderson said. “Taking care of your kids, your players. Bringing them into your family.”

Anderson has always been known to be very personable with her players. She took care of them and took them under her wing. She wanted to build great relationships and great comradery amongst the players, and she succeeded. Throughout her tenure, 10 pitchers received the honor of CAA Pitcher of the Year, most recently sophomore Sarah Cornell receiving the award in 2018.

The two titles she carried the Pride to as head coach were very special to her, and she says the one they had just won was extra special. She attributed it to her players’ motivation and their cooperation with her.

“The biggest thing was the players buying in to my philosophy. Being all in and understanding what that is.”

While transitioning over to Mizzou, a member school of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), a power conference, Anderson hopes to bring similar success to the program. Although the Tigers have never won an SEC title, she sees a great opportunity to lead them to one.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to just have more resources [for recruiting],” Anderson said. “At Hofstra, I took pride in being at a private university and having limited resources for recruiting, but at Mizzou there will be more opportunities with the technology and cameras.”

She went on to say that a title will be their ultimate goal as long as she’s there. She also “looks forward to playing in front of a playoff type atmosphere” at Missouri.

The legacy she leaves at Hofstra will be one that is remembered forever; she carried on the tradition of success after Bill Edwards. Anderson led Hofstra to a 40-win season in 2018 for the 11th time in program history. Along with that, the 2018 team put up record numbers in runs scored (334), runs batted in (315), and home runs (70). They also reached a ranking of 19th in the nation in the RPI poll.

Looking back, Anderson will never forget her home at Hofstra, especially the people and her players.

“I’ve had tremendous support. I’ve treated every player like my own daughter there and I look forward to doing the same at Mizzou.”

In her four years as head coach, Anderson put together an overall record of 130-73-1 with the Pride. That is a record that helped create a legacy that will not be soon forgotten by the Pride family.

Image courtesy of Hofstra Athletics