01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, April 22, 2006

BY ROBERT LEE
Journal Sports Writer

PAWTUCKET -- There are some coaches who know the game from studying books and films.

Then there are those like St. Raphael first-year softball coach Shannon Bracken who know the game because they've played it their whole life.

Bracken was arguably the best catcher for St. Raphael Academy in the history of the school. In fact, she was one of the greatest softball catchers to play in the Interscholastic League.

Before receiving a full athletic scholarship to attend Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., Bracken was selected three times to the Providence Journal All-State team. After spending the last 5 1/2 years working in both marketing and business development, and counseling in both Philadelphia and Allentown, Pa., Bracken has landed her dream job -- coaching the Saints softball team.

She has taken over the coaching reins from legendary coach Mo Jackson who coached the Saints to six state championships starting in 1997. Those are some big shoes to fill, but she's ready. It's an opportunity that she has looked forward to since graduating from Lehigh in 1999.

"I've just had a tremendous amount of coaching and a tremendous amount of good coaching," Bracken said. "To play at the Division I level you have to have a completely different mind set and for me it's nice to come back here and try to pass that along to them and make sure that they are a couple of steps ahead of where I was so they are able to go on to college and be a little bit ahead of the game if they choose to continue to play softball at a higher level. I just like helping them prepare and I love the game."

With onlys two seniors on her team, Bracken has a lot of work to do. After a 2-0 start, the Saints have had three tough-luck losses in a row -- 1-0 to Woonsocket, 4-2 to Lincoln and 3-2 to Bay View.

"For such a young team, I expected to do a lot more rebuilding, but they are playing like veterans which for me as a coach is awesome," Bracken said.

Bracken was graduated from St. Raphael in 1995. As a sophomore, she hit .360 and threw out 15 of 19 runners trying to steal second. The next year, she upped her batting average to .401 and hit seven home runs. As a senior, Bracken hit .448, slugged four home runs, three triples and five doubles. She threw out 9 of 13 runners attempting to steal. She started every game for the Saints in her three-year varsity career.

At Lehigh, Bracken started 42 of 50 games behind the plate and played a key role in the Mountain Hawks' fourth consecutive Patriot League crown. She tore her ACL in her right knee her junior season, but returned as a senior to help the Mountain Hawks finish second in the league.

The Saints are led by ace Danielle Lotti (the younger sister of St. Raphael phenom Kayleigh Lotti), sophomore catcher Kyllie Magill, senior center fielder Alison Balzano, sophomore shortstop Jen Tartaglia and senior first baseman Katie Vaudrain.

"I'm having a blast," Bracken said. "When the opportunity came up I grabbed a hold of it and I'm having a ton of fun. I could not have asked for a better group of kids. They do whatever I ask. They work hard and they have responded to me very well. I'm having so much fun it's like not even having a job. I'm very happy to be here and that's an understatement."

roblee@projo.com / (401) 277-7340