Denton Bowling named Calhoun coach
The former state championship coach at Hatton is taking on the college ranks.
Denton Bowling believes the Calhoun Community College softball program has immense potential.
He’s now going to have his opportunity to build upon the previous success of the program and take it to greater heights while achieving a dream of his own.
“This is something I’ve always wanted to do, even dating back to when I was a college student myself,” Bowling said upon being hired at Calhoun. “The excitement I feel about this opportunity is almost indescribable.”
Bowling takes over for Bart Stephenson, who has been tasked with starting up the new flag football program at Calhoun.
Bowling has been a fixture in Alabama high school athletics for over a decade, coaching baseball, softball, football, wrestling and even bowling. His track record includes more than 400 combined wins in baseball and softball, with over 300 of those on the softball side. In softball alone, his teams won two state championships (2017 and 2023), finished as the state-runner up once, claimed numerous area titles and he coached over 30 players who went on to play college softball.
He has coaching stops at Northridge, Lawrence County and Hatton. At Hatton, he has been the football coach the last nine years. He was the softball coach for seven years before moving over to coach baseball the last two years.
Despite all that success, Bowling acknowledged there were moments he questioned whether the door to college coaching might have closed.
“There were times I felt like I had proven myself and the opportunity just didn’t come,” he said. “I almost didn’t apply this time, to be honest. I’m getting older. But this time it worked out, and I’m so thankful.”
Bowling found irony in recently watching his young son learn to ride a bike. After several falls, his son kept getting up and trying again. That was his motivation to give it another shot.
“This just feels right,” Bowling said. “The kids and my family are excited and supportive. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Bowling has been coaching his daughter’s 10U softball team recently and has had plenty of experience at the high school level. He knows the game and believes in his ability to teach it at its core, having sent several successful players on to the college level.
Transitioning to the college game will come with some adjustments, to be sure. Recruiting and scheduling will be chief among them, but he is confident his experience in athletics and ability to lean on colleagues will allow him to get comfortable quickly.
He also sent a message to prospective student-athletes that may consider Calhoun in the future.
“I’m a consummate competitor, and we’ve been successful at all stops in my career, but we’ve also influenced a lot of people,” he said. “When you commit to a college, mom and dad won’t be there and It’s my job as a coach to close that gap and be that coach for more than the game.
“They need to know that they have a coach that cares about them. We want to be successful by doing things the right way.”
Bowling said he has been impressed by the vision of Calhoun President Dr. Jimmy Hodges and Athletic Director AJ Daugherty.
“I came to baseball camp at Calhoun when I was 7, 8, 9 years old,” he said. “Even back then, I thought this was a place that could be something special. The facilities, the location, the level of softball played in north Alabama, everything is in place here. We want to go out, find the right players and build something great.”
Bowling will get right to work on the recruiting trail, lining up multiple weekend recruiting stops across the state throughout July.
Bowling and his wife, Haley, have two children: daughter Brae, 9, and son Zy, 7.