For nearly 40 years, Carteret’s Randy Krum has volunteered as a softball coach. Within the past two years alone, he was part of two showcase teams that had 20 of their players in the Carteret-based year-round Kraze Fastpitch travel softball league committed to the college level of the game. “I’m more of a teacher than a coach,” Krum said. “Coaching is just hitting and catching the ball, but I’m more than that. My goal was never about winning. It’s about making better players. “My favorite thing about coaching is watching the players I coached play at the varsity or college level,” he continued. “That’s all I do now is go to high schools and colleges and watch my kids play.” A retired training manager for the New Jersey Turnpike, Krum was a star athlete on the football, baseball and soccer teams of Carteret High School and a point guard for CYO basketball. He got his start coaching softball as an assistant to his mom in the late ’70s, but has been a head coach since 1989, the year his daughter started playing recreationally.

“Randy Krum has been invaluable to Carteret as both a councilman and a softball coach,” Mayor Daniel J. Reiman. “The impact he has made on our town has been enormous.” Having had great success in helping to showcase Kraze’s 18-and-up team to colleges for the past two years, Krum now is working with the league’s 14-and-up team. His assistant coaches are Rob DeJesus, Matt Erfzkowicz, and Greg Harkins. Games are played from spring through fall, and in the winter, the team

What sets Krum apart is not just his dedication but his deep understanding of the game, Kushpa said. He is more than a coach, he said. “He is a professor of the game, elevating not only his players but also fellow coaches and even parents who learn from his expertise,” Kushpa said. “His ability to break down the complexities of the sport and teach in a way that young athletes can grasp and apply is invaluable. He is a mentor, a leader, and a true difference-maker in the sport. His impact on the game and the young athletes he guides is undeniable — a coach of true significance.” Krum’s coaching style is demanding yet fair, instilling in his athletes the skills and mindset needed not just for the next level of play but for life beyond the field, the league director said. Krum also has coached scholastically as an assistant coach at his Carteret High School alma mater from 2000 to 2004 and as head coach of Marist High School in Bayonne from 2008 to 2012. He also has coached bowling for Carteret High School.

First elected to the Borough Council in 2002, Krum said he has loved serving his hometown as both a councilman and a coach. “I’m now coaching the kids of the mothers I used to coach,” Krum said. “Sometimes, they come up to me and say, ‘You’re still coaching the same way you did 30 years ago.’ I coach the little things, the fundamentals and techniques that give you an edge. Most coaches use one bucket with 30 balls, I use five buckets with 150 balls. Nobody stands around when I’m coaching. Everybody’s doing something. That’s the difference. “Softball is all about the practices,” he continued. “You get better in practice, not in the games because in the games, you stand around too much.” With practices and games on the beautiful fields in Civic Center Park, Kraze also has 12-and-up and 16-and-up teams. A series of Kraze softball tournaments are scheduled in Carteret for April 6, May 4, June 21 and 22, and July 12, 13, 19 and 20. To try out for the league, email krazefastpitch@gmail.com. For more information please visit www.krazefastpitch.com.