Chelsea Palma comes to Elmira College for her first season as the assistant softball coach in the 2017-18 academic year.
During her undergraduate studies at nearby SUNY Cortland, Palma spent a majority of her time off the field student teaching, working at six different schools in the area and mentoring students of all ages. She used this teaching experience to transition into coaching. She served as a volunteer assistant coach for field hockey, basketball and volleyball teams for seventh and eighth graders in 2016-17, and mentored students at the SUNY Cortland Softball Clinic since 2014.
Palma joins the Soaring Eagles following a successful playing career at Cortland. In her time with the Red Dragons, the team won three straight SUNYAC Tournament Championships and it played in consecutive NCAA Division III Regionals. The Holbrook, New York, native’s senior season was especially noteworthy, as Cortland won their regional for the first time since 2013 and it finished the year ranked 16th in the country. Palma broke out in her final collegiate season with career highs in starts (12), hits (10) and batting average (.270) as a utility player. Â
Palma graduated with a degree in Physical Education in the spring of 2017 and will be pursuing a graduate degree in General Education while at Elmira.Â
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