Kellenberg unveils Ken Conrade Softball Field as part of new Firebird Center multipurpose facility
Ken Conrade, Kellenberg softball head coach, speaks after being surprised by having the newly-minted field at Kellenberg named in his honor before the start of a non-league game against St. Joseph by the Sea on Saturday. Credit: James Escher
Kellenberg looks a lot different than it did 30 years ago. Softball coach Ken Conrade can attest.
Conrade was in his first year as head coach when Kellenberg opened its first on-campus softball field in March 1995, which the Firebirds proudly used for nearly three decades.
After two years of construction, Kellenberg unveiled a brand-new softball field and offered tours of the Firebird Center, a new multipurpose facility that replaced the original field, Saturday morning. The new field, named after Conrade, is an all-turf field with enclosed dugouts. It still has the scoreboard from the previous field, which was added in 2010.
The field was being referred to as St. John Field before it’s opening, but the team and Kellenberg’s administration surprised Conrade by revealing a banner that reads, “Ken Conrade Softball Field.”
“This is about legacy and about all the women that have played before,” Conrade said. “It’s about rounding out the next few years and leaving Kellenberg in a great place, as far as the softball program goes. This field solidifies the facility.”
For the last two years, Kellenberg has practiced and played games at the East Meadow Ballfield Complex, about a mile from the school. While not a far trip, it limited the Firebirds’ practices as the fields are shared with the public.
“It’s beautiful. It’s a nice turf field with new dugouts that are spacious, so we have room for every single girl on the team,” said Michaela Ressegger, a junior. “We’re not getting kicked out by Little League parents after practice every day because we don’t have to share the field with anyone but ourselves.”
Ressegger’s mother, Maura, was a senior catcher on the 1995 Kellenberg softball team. Prior to the original field’s construction, the team practiced at Eisenhower Park.
“When they built the original field, it was pretty cool because we actually had a home field at the school where the students could come watch games,” Maura Ressegger said. “It really felt like a home.”
Before Kellenberg’s season opener against St. Joseph Sea on Saturday, Maura returned to her old position behind the plate as Michaela threw the ceremonial first pitch.
“To share that moment with my mom, who really started my softball career, is really cool,” Michaela Ressegger said. “I think with this new field, like my mom and her teammates did, it’ll build a legacy.”
The Firebird Center is a 60,000-square-foot arts and athletic center that opened in October. It includes two basketball courts, a dance studio, bowling lanes, two golf simulators, and separate band and orchestra spaces with 13 practice rooms.
“I was sad to see the old field go, but when I saw the new athletic center, it’s absolutely amazing,” Maura Ressegger said.
Along with Conrade, Kellenberg’s principal and Chaplain from the original field’s opening remain the same. Conrade, Principal Kenneth Hoaglund and Chaplain Thomas Cardone have been through a lot over the last 30 years, but their values have remained the same.
“The chaplain and the principal are like family. I think they’d say the same about me,” Conrade said. “We sort of treat our athletes in softball the same, we talk about the softball family. I think that makes all the difference in the world. It’s not just a sport, it’s about tradition and it’s about legacy and we talk about that actively.”