Freeport High athletic director Craig Sickels was facing a big problem in early 2015. The softball season was fast approaching and he was still without a varsity coach. “We needed a girls’ varsity softball coach and we got zero applicants,” Sickels said. “We ran the ads, we had school announcements. Finally our JV coach at the time said, ‘Hey, I’ll step in and do it.’ But zero applicants for a varsity position.” Sickels had faced a similar situation when he needed a junior varsity field hockey coach last fall.