Change is coming for Austin High School softball.

Head coach Todd Waterbury has stepped down after seven successful seasons at the helm of the Packer program. He recently accepted the position of activities director at Mankato East High School, ending a tenure of 11 years of teaching and coaching in his hometown.

"The job wasn't something that was going to happen here in Austin, so I needed to look elsewhere," Waterbury said. "I've always regarded the Big Nine as a highly respected conference, one that has seen a lot of success through the years."

The 1984 AHS graduate has been the Ellis Middle School athletic director for the past seven years and a science teacher since 1992. Waterbury was an assistant softball coach to Ron Bergstrom in 1996 and took over the head post the following season. The Packers have shared the Big Nine Conference crown with Mankato East each of the past two years.

Austin softball has enjoyed storied success, including a .676 winning percentage (119-57) in Waterbury's seven seasons. The Packers reached the state tournament in three of four years before a surprising absence from this year's event. Waterbury, 37, is second in career coaching wins to Al Eckmann, who held the job for a total of 14 years and racked up 222 victories.

"I've been blessed with a ton of talent," Waterbury said, "groups of girls that love the game and give everything they have."

Waterbury graduated from Mankato State and will return to the only other city he's called home to begin a new challenge as East's activities director.

"I started putting feelers out after the position was filled here," Waterbury said. "This one just kind of came into view within the last two weeks."

Former Champlin Park football coach Tim Herrmann was hired to replace Naomi Hatfield as AHS activities director and Steve Knox as head football coach. The hiring process eliminated Waterbury when the position was combined to fill both sets of shoes.

"It's been a great time here and obviously with it being home it's always going to be special," Waterbury said. "It would have been nice to continue working here, but it will be nice to get a fresh start too."

Mankato East school policy prohibits the activities director from being a head coach, so Waterbury will officially evacuate his post as the AHS softball coach when the team has its season-ending banquet in July. A considerable senior class helped Waterbury to a 21-4 record in this past season, which came to an end with a pair of losses in the Section 1AAA finals to Farmington.

"It was really hard telling the girls," Waterbury said. "You hope to make it the best experience for them it could possibly be. All that time and effort you hate to walk away, but I think the timing is right.

"You feel like you're letting them down, but you hope they understand why you're doing it."

Waterbury has also contributed his time as an assistant volleyball coach at AHS in addition to the numerous duties at Ellis Middle School. He served as a co-coach of the local 18-and-under softball team this past summer as well.

"When I first started teaching, this wasn't a path I was looking at," Waterbury said. "I wanted to be a teacher and a coach. After a while I started to experience the enjoyment and overall effect you can have on a school, paving the direction of an entire program, and it was a lot of fun.

"Change is difficult, but the timing is right for me to move on."

Call sports editor Ross Thede at 434-2234 or e-mail him at sports@austindailyherald.com.