Courtesy of Florida International Athletics
New FIU softball coach Gator Rebhan envisions his team playing like some of the characteristics of his nickname. When the Panthers take to the diamond next spring Rebhan would like them – similar to a gator – to play fast and aggressive.
“I want us to be fast and aggressive,” Rebhan said. “We are going to run a lot. We are going to throw the ball around a lot. We are going to be very aggressive. Pitchers are going to challenge batters. We’ll be very strong defensively.”
While Rebhan expects the FIU softball team to play fast and aggressive like a gator, ironically, Rebhan did not receive the nickname because of those qualities.
As a young kid, Eugene “Gator” Rebhan had stomach pains and the way his mother, Carol, would alleviate the discomfort was to rub his belly.
“I had a lot of gas when I was a baby so the only way to put me to sleep was that my mom rubbed my belly like a gator,” Rebhan said. “So she gave me the nickname and it has stuck ever since.”
Rebhan would like for the Panthers to stick among the top teams in college softball and one way he expects that to happen is to recruit locally. As the only NCAA Division I softball program in Miami, FIU has an advantage with local high school and travel softball players. FIU outfielder Gabby Spallone and first baseman Stephanie Texeira both played for Rebhan in the travel softball circuit. Spallone and Texeira as well as their Panther teammates are eager to get to work with Rebhan.
“Having Gator as a head coach brings this team to an elite level,” said Spallone, who was second on the FIU team with 52 hits last season. “Gator understands our strengths as players and can help us to hone the skills that we haven’t quite yet mastered.”
Rebhan, a Miami native, is thrilled to be the head softball coach in his hometown where he has coached for more than 20 years. Rebhan ran the Boys and Girls Club in Kendall in the early 1990’s and started the club’s fast-pitch softball program. Rebhan coached his niece there. At the turn of the 21st century Rebhan coached at Palmetto High and won the state championship in his first year, 2000. He coached the Palmetto Panthers for six years and then concentrated coaching travel softball until taking an assistant coaching position at FIU last year.
Rebhan is very competitive whether its softball or any other part of life. Rebhan’s wife, Jesse, signed up the family for the game show, “Family Feud”. There the Rebhans nearly won their game but lost to the Love family in the bonus round. From the moment the Rebhans taped the game show in Orlando they were out to win and return as champions for another show. Rebhan expects the Panthers to compete for championships just as quickly.
“We have the potential to win the conference this upcoming year,” Rebhan said. “I’m looking to get in the top 20 and hopefully get in a regional. That’s our goal. I think we have the talent to do it and there is no reason why we shouldn’t.”
Said pitcher Corinne Jenkins, who led the Panthers with 17 wins last season: “Gator brings in great softball knowledge, preparation, and local ties. But I believe that the best thing he will bring to the team is his open mind. He is a great listener while still enforcing his coaching style and rules. I really believe that his excitement and commitment will carry this team to the next level.”
