Nussbaum set to enter Hall of Fame

Andy Nussbaum is about to turn the impressive first half of a coaching double play.

Nussbaum, now in his 29th year as Naperville Central varsity softball coach, will be inducted this weekend into the Illinois Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Nussbaum, who won his 500th game as Redhawks coach last May, will be joined by former Lisle coach Rick Beato as inductees. In a little more than two months, Nussbaum will be inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

The call for the softball honor came “out of the blue” last year.

“It’s nice to be honored,” Nussbaum said. “It’s a tribute to the quality players we’ve had come through the program.”

Nussbaum has two state tournament appearances on his resume, the last coming in 2009, and one DuPage Valley Conference championship.

His first regional title came in his first year, 1984, when the softball playoffs just had one class.

“Particularly since 2000 we’ve had some pretty good seasons,” Nussbaum said. “It’s an indicator of how hard the kids have worked and the talent we’ve had. I’m happy to be a part of that. Everybody likes to think they’ve done a good job.”

Nussbaum has coached three sports at Naperville Central — basketball and football the others — for going on three decades. Of the three, he doesn’t hesitate to say that softball has undergone the most dramatic changes.

“Back then if you wanted to play travel softball, you really had to play in St. Charles or Downers Grove. Now there are travel teams all over,” Nussbaum said. “We have kids play more games now over the summer than kids in the past played their whole four years of high school. We’ve had pitchers the last few years that are the program’s fourth or fifth best, that would be my ace back in the ’90s. That’s how dramatic a shift it is.”