BRANDON — After 33 years, Otter Valley Union High School softball coach Pattie Candon has stepped down, a decision she announced last week.
In deciding to leave the post Candon cited the length of her tenure and the fact there are many good young players on a team that finished this past season strong after a slow start.
“I just feel this program is in a good place, and 33 years is a long time,” said Candon, who waited until after the season to tell her athletes about a decision she said she had made earlier.
“I felt it was the right time. Whoever is coming in is coming into a wealth of talent.”
Her final team got off to a 1-6 start this spring that included a 41-1 loss to Fair Haven, but bounced back to finish the regular season at 7-9 and won a rematch at Fair Haven. The Slaters, who later lost in the final, won the rubber match in the D-II quarterfinal round, 8-3, pulling away late from a 3-3 tie in what proved to be Candon’s final game.
Candon, whose athletes routinely sing her praises, concludes her softball coaching career with a 347-236 record and four Division II championships, in 1994, 1995, 2009 and 2014.
The Otters in 2009 also ended Lyndon’s record 79-game winning streak, and OV’s softball field is named after her.
Candon also recently retired from her position as an OV physical education teacher, but plans to continue to officiate high school field hockey games and to announce OV basketball games.
Candon has been inducted into the Castleton University Athletic Hall of Fame, the Vermont Principals’ Association Hall of Fame and the Northeast Women’s Hall of Fame.