George Wares

George Wares
Head coach

George Wares is the one of the winningest softball coaches in the U.S.

Wares guided the Dutch to their 22nd NCAA Division III tournament berth in the past 25 years. In 26 seasons as Central College head coach, Wares has compiled a 870-294-3 record (.746). On the all-time NCAA Division III charts he ranks third in career victories (870) and fourth in winning percentage. Among active Division III coaches, he ranks second in career victories, first in NCAA playoff appearances (22) and first in NCAA playoff victories (79).

In 2007, Wares was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Hall of Fame.

Wares has piloted the Dutch to national championships in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 2003 with national runner-up finishes in 1986 and 2001. His 22 NCAA playoff teams have finished in the national top five 12 times. The Dutch were third in the NCAA in 1990, 1994 and 1995, fourth in 1987 and 1989, and fifth in 1997. Central won or shared Coach with team10 Iowa Conference titles (1986, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009)

Wares and his assistants were named the NFCA Div. III coaching staff of the year in 2003, after taking regional honors in 2001.

In 2009 Wares was named co-winner of the Iowa Conference coach of the year award. He's won or shared the honor seven times (1990, 1993, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009).

Wares is in his second 3-year term on the NFCA Division III All-America Selection Committee, serving two years as chair.

A 1976 Central graduate, Wares spent seven years as girls' softball coach at NESCO High School in Zearing , Iowa , posting a 214-94 record and piloting three squads to state tournament berths. He was named all-area coach of the year three times.

Wares also served as a high school boys' basketball coach for 18 years, including seven at NESCO and 11 at Pella High School . He compiled a 259-106 career record, earning four state tournament berths, with two state runner-up finishes. He served for four seasons as an assistant men's basketball coach at Central.

A highly regarded motivational speaker, Wares received a master's degree in counseling from Iowa State University. He worked as an at-risk counselor at Pella High School and as an academic counselor at Central.

To contact Coach George Wares
Phone: (641) 628-5195
E-mail: waresg@central.edu

Alicia O'Brien
Associate head coach

After 17 seasons as a highly successful head coach at Western Connecticut State University , Alicia O'Brien is in her fifth year as associate head coach at Central. She also serves as the athletics department's senior woman administrator and works with the college admission office as transfer student coordinator.

At Western Connecticut State O'Brien posted a 423-213-3 (.664) softball record, guiding the Colonials to a 28-18 mark and their eighth NCAA Division III tournament berth in 2006. She piloted Western Connecticut State to the NCAA finals in 2002 and her teams posted 20 or more wins 13 straight seasons, capturing Little East Conference championships three times since 2001. She served as the school's associate athletics director and senior woman administrator as well.

O'Brien has helped Central compile an 117-51 (.696) mark over four seasons, giving her a 540-264-3 (.671) career record. She received the Easton Victory Club Award for her 500th win at the 2009 NFCA convention.

A Western Connecticut State University graduate and two-sport team captain, O'Brien also earned a master's degree there in counseling. She served on the school's Hall of Fame Committee and was a member of its Wellness Initiative. She served a five-year term as a Title IX consultant with the Danbury , Conn. school system. The long-time director of the Western Connecticut Softball Camp, O'Brien was also an NFCA Division III Regional All-America Committee member.

In 2001 she was inducted into the Connecticut Softball Hall of Fame and in 2008 she joined the Danbury (Conn.) High School Athletics Hall of Fame.

O'Brien is the wife of Dutch head coach George Wares.

Phone: (641) 628-5434
E-mail: obriena@central.edu


FisherJake Fisher
Assistant coach

Jake Fisher is in his fourth year as assistant softball coach at Central, returning after serving as a student assistant in 2004. He specializes in hitting instruction.

A Washburn ( Kan. ) University graduate and a Topeka , Kan. native, for four years Fisher was head coach for the Capital City Stars, among the premier age 18-and-under Class A ASA teams in Kansas. His teams posted a 122-52-2 record, placing fifth at the 2004 16A USSSA World Series in Aurora , Colo. and third at the 18A World Series in Kansas City. Kan. in 2006 and in 2007. He is also an experienced instructor at camps in Iowa and Kansas .

Fisher is a physical education instructor at Clay Elementary School in Altoona .

E-mail: fisherj@central.edu