If Kurt Raguse had a signature line that may have been it. Forever a coach, he was known for helping legions of players grow in the sport of softball and after they’d go through the paces he’d let them know it was a job well done.
“That is what he said to his pitchers. That is what he said to his catchers,” said Ashley Webber, who played for Raguse at Brookfield East. “My favorite story of him was when I was 14 and he was teaching me about the game and pitching and I had this big inning and I had a girl fouling off 13, 14 pitches. He calls a timeout and says if she wants to get on base that bad just hit her. Don’t let her waste your arm.”
He was kidding, of course. Sarcastic. Witty. Devoted to teaching kids the game. Raguse checked each of those boxes.
The Germantown coach died Nov. 3 at his home in Grafton. He was 50.
“He wanted the kids to play as much as possible, so he would rearrange the schedule and have JV games and JV2 games because he wanted kids to play as much as possible,” Menomonee Falls coach Lou Sanicola said. “His philosophy was let’s get them as many games as possible. Let’s do what is in the best interest of the kid.”