Ironically, it was a man who initially approached Laura Katana with the suggestion that she serve as the manager for the Red Wings, a minor league West Windsor Little League team of 10 and 11-year-old boys.
While Katana, 38, a single mother of two boys, started coaching Little League games three years ago because she thought it was important that her children participate in sports. But she also knew that was a big difference between being a coach and being a manager. And she knew she would be the first woman to serve in this capacity in West Windsor.
During the spring of 2011 Katana was coaching for a team managed by Sean Bluni when Bluni, also a vice president of the league, asked her to consider managing her own team for the upcoming season.
“Laura was very enthusiastic and interested in learning more about teaching the kids,” Bluni says. “When we sat down to discuss who we would select as managers, I recommended her because she communicated well to the kids and they were very responsive.”
Bluni also had the opportunity to observe Katana when she managed a Fall Ball team, a more casual setting than the spring Little League season. “All the feedback was that she was doing a really good job,” says Bluni. “I did not think that the fact that she was a woman would matter at all. It is all about who can communicate to the kids, make a commitment and put the time in. She did really well.”
“Initially, when Sean asked if I would consider managing, I felt nervous about whether I could do the job,” Katana says. “I was also hesitant because I know this is a boys’ club; some of the men are tough. But I love baseball, and I am not the kind of person who wants to look back and say ‘I should have done that,’ so I agreed.”
The Red Wings are glad she did. Under Katana’s guidance, the team — which included her son, Charlie, 11, and Cooper, 8, who served as bat boy, reached the district championship this past June.
In addition to raising two young sons, Katana works fulltime as a paralegal for Hill Wallack, a law firm with offices in Carnegie Center. Katana knew she was taking on a lot when she accepted the position. Already juggling work, taking care of her home, and the responsibilities that come with parenthood, Katana added the manager’s many duties — including attending all practices and games.
“When I do something, I give it my all, and once I made the commitment that was it,” Katana says. “When the word was out that I would be serving as the manager, I received a couple of anxious E-mails from the mothers of some of the boys indicating that they were a little nervous about it,” she adds. “But that didn’t throw me.”
Katana vividly remembers attending her first draft to select players. “Some of the men told me that I didn’t know the rules,” Katana says. “But I told them that I did. They were all there with their laptops and I had my sheets of paper.”
Steve Gartenberg, Katana’s co-coach remembers that period well. “When Laura attended the draft, some of the male coaches assumed that she was a novice and didn’t know what she was doing,” he recalls. “But she did her homework. She knew the game; she knew the key positions and used strategy. Laura defied all odds and drafted an exceptional team.”
Gartenberg, an inventory manager for Wake Fern Food Corporation, a Shoprite Cooperative, is used to women serving in leadership positions. His wife serves as commissioner of Montgomery Township, and his mother works as a manager as well. “There were a couple of comments made about her being a woman, but for the most part, she was well respected,” Gartenberg says. “This was all about Laura and her determination. She wanted to prove that she could succeed.”
Gartenberg notes that Katana also has great organizational skills and had a great plan in place. “We sat down and set goals and discussed who we should draft to have the best players to fit our team,” he shared. “We started every practice with throwing, stretching, and doing certain drills. She was very consistent, and the kids knew what to expect.”
Gartenberg was particularly impressed with Katana’s adeptness at drafting players. “There is negotiating that goes on, and Laura was very strategic in the way she chose her players. When it was done, she had what she wanted. Gartenberg, who has been coaching Little League for the past seven years, describes this past season as “by far my best experience.”
Katana says she believes the boys on her team loved having a woman manager. “A couple of the moms of the boys who played last year complained that they had experienced awful managers who were very competitive,” she says. “Some boys did not even want to play again this year. But since I became manager there was such a change, like night and day.”
Katana attributes the difference to her more nurturing style. “When a player does something wrong, a lot of male coaches will walk out and say ‘you’re done’,” Katana explained. “But I would go out and talk to them. I would ask them if they wanted to continue to pitch or if they wanted another batter. I really felt that I needed to give them the chance to say what they wanted to do, which was encouraging to them.”
She also asked for the boys’ input on how practices should be structured and participated during practices. “I made sure that the first day the boys showed up to practice to ask them if they wanted to run first or stretch. When they chose running, I ran with them and only three of them beat me. They thought it was great that I ran with them.”
Katana adhered to a regular warm up routine of push-ups, running, and stretching, and her players also had their lucky cookies before each game. She also made it a point to just be herself. “I dressed in sparkly jeans, Puma black sneakers, and hoop earrings. I had all my makeup on and no baseball cap.” On one occasion one of the dads told her, “You can’t wear a nice watch like that to baseball.” But Katana came directly from work to coach and had no time to change.
Katana moved to West Windsor in 1997 to be with her boyfriend, whom she eventually married, and to start at Hill Wallack. But when the kids became active in sports, their father was rarely available to attend games due to a heavy work schedule. In 2009 his ability to be with the boys was further challenged when he was left wheelchair-bound as a result of a motorcycle accident. “I wanted to teach my sons about sports; someone has to,” says Katana. “I also thought it would be a good way to bond with their friends — and I love baseball.”
For Katana, serving as manager has been a real confidence booster. When she initially separated from her husband she wanted to go back to her home town of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and live with her mother, a former bank teller, and father, a retired colonel in the military. But ultimately she decided not to. “I didn’t think this would be good for the boys,” she explains. “I think it is important for them to be able to bond with their friends.”
Katana stressed the importance of spending time with her children. “Being a single mom is all about being there for my kids. People will say ‘I don’t know how you do it’,” she says. “Sometimes I am surprised at how well they are doing. They lived through their father’s motor cycle accident and his leaving our family nine months later.” Katana attributes their emotional wellbeing to her belief that it is “all about knowing that we will be fine. We can do anything together.” Managing a Little League team has been great for the family. “The three of us really bonded,” she says. Her parents frequently made the two-hour drive to see games.
Laura has been on her own for three years and describes herself as “an entirely different person now; more outgoing and very independent.” She thinks back on the dark days when she found herself newly separated and facing the daunting reality of raising her sons as a single mother. “I remember thinking, ‘What will I do now?’”
Charlie thinks it is really cool having his mom manage his baseball team. “I got to know my mom really well. I learned that she is fun and knows a lot about baseball,” he explains.
When Charlie came home with his first place trophy after winning the championship, he said, “I’m not going to put this in my room. I am putting it in the china closet because it belongs to all of us.”
