Campus: Why did you decide to coach?

Victory: I grew up with my mom coaching. I always loved that side of things. She was a basketball coach, so she always joked that when I would walk into the gym, I wouldn’t pick up the ball, I’d pick up the whiteboard. By the time I was coming out of college, I was all set to become a teacher, but as soon as I was away from baseball, I realized how much I missed it. I tried to find a job with it and was able to keep coaching at my alma mater.

Campus: What is your favorite part of coaching?

Victory: Just the fact that it’s baseball, for me. That everyday I get to come into the office, it’s baseball. Every bar has its down moments and every bar has its great moments, but just the fact that everyday it’s baseball is definitely the best part of it.

Campus: What are you looking forward to this season?

Victory: I’m really looking forward to actually diving in and working with the guys, and helping them turn around. They were so close to achieving their goals last year and fell a little bit short, but they’re all back and they’re all real hungry to keep going after it. And they haven’t had a pitching coach before, and that’s my expertise, so getting to work with them and help them get back to the top, and—hopefully—win a conference championship would be exciting for me and for them.

Campus: Why did you choose to come to Allegheny?

Victory: There was turnover where I was before, and I didn’t want to be a part of it. I wanted to let the team go on its own. So, I was looking for new places to work, and this was an opportunity. I got to come for an interview, and as soon as I pulled in on campus, I was like ‘Yup, this would be a perfect place to be.’ [Allegheny] is very similar to where I went to school. The small liberal arts colleges are something that I love, and getting to see the campus and how nice it is, and how nice the baseball field is and meeting the guys—it was just the energy here.

Campus: How long have you been playing baseball?

Victory: Since I was old enough to play tee-ball. Probably around 5 years old—can’t do it anymore, though.

Campus: What do you think are the benefits of playing DIII?

Victory: I think the best part of it is that you get to be a student, also. You’re able to go and make sure you get done in the classroom, and you also get to go and join other activities. I was able to do that. I was an orientation leader. I ran intramural sports. I had my own radio show. I know a lot of guys on [Allegheny’s] team do the same thing. They’re able to be leaders of clubs and do different things around campus, and their sport isn’t dominating their lives.

Campus: What traits/characteristics do you believe make a strong team?

Victory: I think it’s good leadership at the top, strong seniors, strong captains that are able to bring the guys together, and then that trickles down into honorable belief, that strong mental belief that we can succeed, which goes into work ethic. And being able to be mentally tough and physically tough on all of them on the field to get our wins. That leadership part is a huge part, and something that they definitely have here. It’s going to help us out this season.

Campus: What are your goals for this season?

Victory: I think at the end of the day it’s to get a conference championship, but at the same time, it’s to establish a routine for the pitchers on my side of things, and to set them up for success.  We talked a lot about goals, and we’re looking at the process right now more than the actual end result. Just establishing that routine, establishing them as solid players, and then, if we have those long-term goals, they’ll come with the short term.

Campus: What do you believe the team has to work on the most this year?

Victory: I think just continuing to stay mentally tough. We have long weekends now. We play two nine-inning double headers, which is, for anybody, a lot of baseball. To be able to stay up and stay ready for the six hours for two straight days is going to be a lot. So to be able to do that—that’ll be a huge leap for them, for us.