Asmussen | Married with children ... and softball

May 23—In hindsight, the wedding vows for the Paulsons and Cervantes could have easily included a line or two about softball.

Maybe "for richer or poorer, in walk-offs and riseballs." Something like that.

The sport has become a focal point in the lives of Parkland College co-coaches Kristi and Dan Paulson and Danville Area Community College head coach Matt Cervantes and assistant coach Kelley Cervantes.

The four lead their teams at this week's NJCAA Division II Softball World Series at Spartanburg, S.C.

Fourth-seeded Parkland (49-10) opens at 1 p.m. Tuesday against 13th-seeded Delaware Technical & Community College (32-7-1). The Cobras are 49-10.

Ninth-seeded DACC (42-22) plays at 11 a.m. Tuesday against No. 8 Kirkwood Community College (43-16).

All the games in the 16-team, double-elimination tournament are at Tyger River Park, with the national championship game set for Saturday afternoon. Win or lose, the DACC and Parkland coaches will have someone to share their feelings with afterward.

The partnerships add to the experience. In a good way.

"There aren't a lot of jobs in the world you can say you get to hang out with your best friend and do things that you love and can be passionate about together," Matt Cervantes said.

How did they end up working together? Each couple has a different story with roots in the same basic truth: their love for games on diamonds.

"We eat, breathe and sleep softball," Matt Cervantes said.

Matt played baseball at Illinois and Kelley was a softball standout with the Illini. They got engaged after Kelley played in an Illinois softball game.

After college, Matt went to work as the Blue Ridge High School baseball coach. Kelley was coaching softball at Unity High School.

DACC athletic director Tim Bunton recruited them to take over the Jaguars.

"I don't think we'd have it any other way," Matt said. "I have somebody that I trust and has my back 100 percent of the time."

"We wanted to see if we'd be good at it," Kelley said,

The Cervantes are in their ninth year as coaches at DACC. They have their own roles. Kelley works with the hitters on the mental side of the game.

"She's able to relate to the girls, which is huge for us," Matt said.

Their connection in life carries over to coaching.

"We think exactly alike. That's why we're really good at what we do," Matt said. "She knows if I'm coaching third exactly what I'm going to do every time."

There are challenges.

"I think we do a really job understanding one another," Kelley said.

The Cervantes worked in the Paulson's travel softball organization. So they'll likely keep a close eye on Parkland while they're down in South Carolina this week.

"We know Dan and Kristi very well," Kelley said. "It's always a good competition when we play them because both couples are very similar to each other. We know when we play each other, we have to be almost perfect.

"We have mutual friends who say, 'Yes, you definitely are the same.'"

Finding each otherDan Paulson was playing slowpitch softball when he first met Kristi, who was coaching travel softball. Soon after they started dating, she asked him to help coach softball.

"I was hooked immediately, so I quit playing and started coaching," Dan said. "She taught me everything I know about softball."

They formed their own travel team, Premier Fastpitch, and coached together ever since.

"I knew anything we did together, it was going to be good just because I know how he does things," Kristi said. "He puts everything he has into it. We both have high standards and high expectations. We help push each other to reach those goals. Just about everything he touches turns to gold. I trust everything he does and his decisions."

Dan, a Mattoon native like Kristi, played baseball, basketball and golf in high school. Dan's parents ran a gymnastics academy in Mattoon for 45 years. Married almost 13 years, the Paulsons are both "take charge kind of people," Dan said.

The Paulsons have coached together 14 years and found a way to make it work well, with the help of assistant coach Stacey Birdsong.

"We kind of know what we're doing, when we're doing it and who's doing what," Dan said.

Kristi is the pitching coach and has the final say with input from the others.

"We communicate quite a bit and we have a plan going into the game," Dan said.

Kristi in charge of practices for the Cobras.

"She's the drill master," Dan said. "She handles the fundamentals."

They agree about most softball decisions.

Kristi comes from a baseball and softball background. Her dad, Bert Bradley, played and coached for the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants.

Family firstEarly in their marriage, Kelley and Matt Cervantes talked about softball away from the field.

"Now, we just try to focus on our kids," Kelley said. "We made that rule for us. Once we get in the car, we're not talking about (softball) anymore. When we were younger, it was softball all the time."

The Cervantes have two children, daughter Parker (2) and son Gable (1).

Kelley's parents, Mark and Denise Wedel, live in Philo and help with the kids.

"Our (players) love being around our kids, too, so that helps out a lot," Matt said. "They are honestly like big sisters. They gravitate toward them and they have so much fun."

Having children created a new reality for both couples.

"Before you're a parent, you have this set schedule that you have in your brain," Kelley said.

The couples have learned to be flexible. Last week, the day before Parkland left for the national tournament, the Paulson's youngest four-year-old Hayden fell off the monkey bars and had to go see a doctor. All turned out fine, with Hayden suffering a sprain,

The Paulsons have three children in daughter Andi (8), son Jax (6) and Hayden, with a fourth child — and second daughter — coming in early August

The Paulsons talk often about the family culture of their team with the Cobras.

"I look at them almost like step-daughters," Dan said. "My wife does as well. We are very involved with our team, whether it's softball-related or not softball-related. They do study tables and we're right there with them. If they have a class they're struggling in, we'll try to help or get them help."

The Paulson kids enjoy their time with the Cobras.

"They get a lot out of it and it's good for our team also," Kristi said. "I would trust any of them with our kids."

Softball is full time for Kristi, who also helps run their travel softball program. Dan owns a printing company in Champaign, Premier Print Group, and a silk-screen printing company in Mattoon called Wave Graphics. He has been in the business for 23 years.

Like the Cervantes family, the Paulsons have plenty of help from family members and friends. Ashley Prahl has been with the Paulsons for almost a decade as a nanny.

What's next for the Paulsons and Cervantes? The couples like their current situations, both at the schools they coach and at home.

"Right now, it fits our family and our lifestyle to be where we're at," Kristi said.

Hectic scheduleDACC left Sunday morning for the 619-mile drive to Spartanburg. It's a familiar trip for the team, which opens every season with games in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The Jaguars are making their second consecutive appearance in the national tournament. The team finished seventh in 2022.

"Every single year, we have expectations of our girls to go on and do a job," Matt Cervantes said. "That's been a goal of our team all year.

"We play in a very, very tough region. Just to even get out is an accomplishment for sure."

Illinois schools make up one-quarter of field, with Parkland and DACC joined by South Suburbaan and Rock Valley.

"We've all played each other, which is actually kind of cool," Matt Cervantes said.

Dan Paulson is excited about the opportunity in the national tournament. The Cobas, who arrived at the national tournament site on Saturday night, have played against a handful of the finalists.

"We're very confident."Dan said. "We've got a very deep roster all the way through."