When the subject of career coaching victories arose, Pam Toliver had a question for her husband, a longtime coach.
“Who has the most wins in high school softball?” she asked Al Toliver.
“My friend Randy Wolken, who coached at St. Joe (St. Joseph-Ogden), has over a thousand,” he replied.
“Well, you can do that,” Pam said.
Al Toliver meant every word 48 years ago when he pledged his love and said, “I do.” He wasn’t going to lie to his soulmate now.
“No,” he said of Wolken’s state record. “That’s too many years down the road to think about that.”
Maybe, as Toliver insists, he won’t surpass Wolken’s 1,044 victories. That doesn’t mean he’s done coaching.
Yes, he is 68 years old. And yes, he’s been planning practices, filling out lineup cards and riding in vans/buses for 28 years. It is a significant investment of time and energy.
But what a return it has yielded.
Toliver’s teams have won 742 games, eighth-most in state history according to Illinois High School Association records. His 742-226-3 record, a .764 winning percentage, includes two years at Central Catholic (20 wins), 14 at Olympia (451) and, now, 12 at University High (271).
Three times he coached Olympia to state championships and twice to runner-up finishes. The Spartans made five straight state finals appearances (eight in all) and won 10 conference championships under Toliver. There have been two more conference titles, four regional championships and two sectional crowns at U-High.
Toliver will tell you it is a credit to the talented players and assistant coaches he has had. He’ll also tell you the real reward runs deeper than triumphs and trophies.
“It’s the relationships you build over that time and those kids that you watch grow up and then have their own families,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to coach some kids of players that I had coached and that’s always fun, too. When you see those people at games or whatever, it’s the hugs that you get and just the relationships.”
Among the many for Toliver is his connection to Tiffany Prager, head softball coach at Illinois Wesleyan. Prager played for Toliver at Olympia in junior high and high school, six years in all.
His positive approach made her fall head over spikes in love with the game.
“I think back to being in middle school and I know that softball was not my favorite sport,” Prager said. “But it quickly became my favorite sport because Al was my head coach. I have forever loved it since he coached me.”
Prager blossomed into an All-State player at Olympia and an all-conference infielder at Illinois State. She has built a stellar program at IWU, highlighted by a national runner-up finish in 2018.
All the while, she has been in frequent contact with Toliver, calling him “a one of a kind person.”
“I knew he was a special coach (when she played),” Prager said. “But the more you live life, the more you realize we were so lucky at Olympia to have the coaches that we had, the people that we had surrounding us. He is a once in a lifetime coach who has changed my life.”
Runs in the family
Softball has been part of Toliver’s life from the start. His father, Bob, was a fastpitch softball pitcher until he was 53 years old. Al tagged along to the ballpark as a youth and later played alongside his father.
Having played baseball at Tri-Valley High School, Al Toliver was primarily a third baseman and played fastpitch softball until he was 42. The game was, and is, in his blood.
He turned to coaching in the Bloomington-Normal Girls Softball Association in-town leagues when his daughters, Jennifer, Darcie and Mallory, began to play. It led to coaching the junior high team at Olympia in 1993, then the high school positions, beginning at Central Catholic in 1995.
Now look at him. He has been a high school head coach for 971 games and should pass 1,000 next season.
“That’s a pretty big number when you think about it,” he said. “I never anticipated accomplishing something like that.”
Toliver has reached this point by staying true to himself. His coaching style is built on positive reinforcement, which is in line with his personality and upbringing.
There’s also this:
“For me, coaching girls, having three girls of my own, knowing what kind of motivates them and gets them going, this is the style I chose,” he said. “I think girls are always going to perform better when they’re not feeling pressure.
“I definitely want to coach them up, but I don’t have to do it in a way that belittles them in any way. I just want to elevate them.”
He does it through words but also actions. At Olympia, he gave out game balls as a reward for impactful performances, especially during the postseason. Likely, many of his former Spartan players have at least one in their homes. Prager does.
At U-High, a standout effort earns a player Starburst candy. Morgan Edwards had numerous terrific performances as a Pioneer. Now a U-High assistant coach, she said the gesture is meaningful.
“It says, ‘Hey, I recognize you,’” Edwards said. “I saved every single Starburst he gave me when I was playing for him. They’re in a jar. Even if they went through the wash, I took them out and put them in the jar.”
Edwards continued her career at the University of Illinois-Springfield. She relished her time playing for Toliver, saying the encouraging environment he created “made it easier to enjoy the game.”
How long will he do it? Toliver talks it over with his wife after each season and they evaluate things. The quick answer, he says, is “when it’s not fun, I’m not doing it anymore.”
“So far, it’s still fun,” he said. “There are always some hiccups along the way, but for the most part the day to day with the kids and helping them improve and get to their highest level, that’s what makes it fun.”
The goal is to also make a difference and Toliver does. The records and titles are evidence.
Yet, the impact goes beyond hitting and fielding, Edwards said.
“I feel like his advice, his leadership, have helped me through other phases of my life,” she said. “I’ve known him for a really long time now. He’s helped me in more ways than just softball, which I think says a lot about him and his character.”
They don’t keep records for that.
Too bad.
They’re the best wins of all.
