Aug. 1, 2011
NORMAL, Ill. -
Illinois State assistant softball coach Tina Kramos, who has been part of the Redbird coaching staff since 2000, has been promoted to associate head coach, as announced by head coach Melinda Fischer Monday afternoon.
"Tina is very deserving of this promotion and will be entering her 12th season with our program," Fischer said. "She has certainly had other opportunities at other universities and I am ecstatic that she has been able to commit herself to Illinois State University, Illinois State Athletics and Illinois State Softball. Tina is a first-class individual and relates very well to our athletes and their parents."
Kramos has coached three All-Americans (Amber Smith - 2006; Kara Nelson - 2007, 2010; Abby Olson 2010) in her 11 years at ISU and has turned Illinois State into a perennial offensive power. Under her guidance, the Redbirds led the Missouri Valley Conference in nine offensive categories in 2011 by smashing 70 home runs, the second most in league history, and posting a single-season school record .515 slugging percentage.
"Since Tina has taken charge of our offense and dedicated herself to learning the game from a total hitter perspective, our team has taken off and experienced great levels of offensive success," Fischer said. "She has brought a power part of the game to Redbird softball that we did not have a lot of before she took over that area. I also think that she makes working on offense a lot of fun and has a wonderful demeanor and personality. She has really become a great student and a great coach of hitting."
In 2007, Kramos led the ISU offense to one of the most successful seasons in MVC history, when the Redbirds established a new single-season Valley record by belting 83 home runs and set school records for runs scored (329), hits (489) and RBI (308).
Prior to her coaching career, Kramos was a member of the Missouri State softball team from 1990-95 and was a two-time All-Valley First-Team honoree. She still ranks first in the MSU annals for assists in a single season (152) and second in career assists (487). Kramos was inducted in the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.
"Tina has been a winner in everything that she has done and her experience internationally expanded her knowledge to a different level. Any time you are able to do that, you gain more and are able to bring more to what you are doing as a coach," Fischer said. "She was a great player at the collegiate level. I remember coaching against her and she was an awesome shortstop and a standout at Missouri State."
Kramos' softball career extended beyond coaching, as she was selected to the Greek National Team in 2002 and played for the team that won the 2003 European Championship and placed second at the 2005 European Championships. She was also a member of the Greek Olympic softball team that participated in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
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