You would be hard-pressed to find a more passionate and energetic club coach in softball than John Corn, the head man of the Lady Lightning program based in North Carolina.

The Lady Lightning Gold Team Miken squad finished in the Top 10 at PGF Nationals for the second straight year and recently had a trio of players make the 2016 Hot 100 list after putting three players in each of the 2014 and 2015 Hot 100 rankings.

One of my favorite interviews I’ve ever done was of Coach Corn at the 2013 PGF Nationals after his team had just knocked off the powerful Corona Angels. Click here to see the enthusiasm John and his players have for the game!

I caught up with him recently and asked him a couple questions about his program… here are his answers…

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FullCountSoftball.com: Talk about how you got into softball and what drives you to be involved today?
John Corn: I started helping with a Little League team in 1999 when I moved to North Carolina. After doing that I knew there had to be something bigger to fuel my competitive juice, so I started Lady Lightning Fastpitch in the fall of 1999. I really wanted to be different than everyone else so we started a format to look for strictly D1 talented kids in 2004-2005. I continue to stay involved today because our program is making a positive influence in the future of all of these young ladies.

FCS: What is it like being in North Carolina and being an elite program… is it difficult to get players with top programs all around you in Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, etc. as well as in your backyard?
JC: Extremely difficult, but looking at our rosters over the past six years, we have had kids from Alabama, South Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Tennessee and North Carolina. In North Carolina, it is very hard to get some players because of the financial commitment needed for travel, but the ones that really want to play against the best find us in our area.

FCS: When you look to add players to the Lady Lightning, what are the top one or two things you’re looking for in a potential new addition?
JC: First, we have a Player Measurement system in place and they must meet the requirements of those measurables. Second, they must meet the grade requirement of 3.5 GPA in order for us to work with them.

FCS: You’ve had great success in the last few years including top 10 finishes at PGF Nationals… to what do you attribute the great tournament runs?
JC: I believe it’s due to our legacy of players who have laid the groundwork for kids in our program, players like Marisa Runyon (Alabama), Lexi Davis (Auburn), Sam Carpenter (East Tennessee State), Allie Geiner (North Carolina-Greensboro), Madison Arroyo (Mississippi State), Kendra Lynch (North Carolina), Ericka Harris (USC Upstate), Nikki Legg (Furman), Chelsea Hartsell (North Carolina State), Logan Green (Jacksonville State) and Heather Robb (North Carolina-Greensboro). They all were true LLG players that set the stage for our success.

FCS: If you could change one thing about softball and could do so, what would it be?
JC: I change the illegal pitch rule. On a called illegal pitch, the penalty would be a (live ball) ball on the batter.