Mike Vining

Head Coach

Girls Varsity Softball

Mike Vining brings 20 years of coaching experience to St. Thomas, primarily at the high school level. He most recently served as the head coach at Great Bay Community college for two years, prior to that he coached at Portsmouth Christian Academy (PCA) for ten years and helped lead the team to the final four in New Hampshire three straight years, including reaching the state championship game, for the first time in school history in 2014. In 2015, he was chosen as the New Hampshire Softball Coaches Association (NHSCA) coach of the year.

“I’m extremely excited to coach at St Thomas and look forward to the challenge of continuing to build the softball program and emphasize the school’s goals,” Vining said. “We’re going to be a fun and competitive program, and emphasize fundamentals, pitching and defense.”

He has coached the Amateur Softball Association summer travel teams for six years, which include the Seacoast Shock, a 16-and-under team, which won the state title and made back-to-back World Series appearances. Prior to the Seacoast Shock, he coached the Dover Attack travel teams who earned three straight state championship berths.

Mike and his wife, Gerri, lived in Dover for the past 20 years before recently moving to Rochester. They have two daughters, Alicia and Ashley, who both play collegiate softball. Alicia is a senior at American University, and was selected as the NHSCA Division IV pitcher of the year in 2015. Meanwhile, Ashley is a sophomore at Grove City College and she was selected as the NHSCA Division IV pitcher of the year in 2017.