It didn’t take long for Tim Lusk to find his sport. He recalls growing up in a town that didn’t have baseball teams, but they did have leagues for fastpitch softball, and by age 6 or 7, he was hooked.

After playing for more than three decades in the sport and coaching various levels of softball (men’s leagues, Little League) and baseball, he’s the newest member of the Sequim High head coaching ranks.

An assistant at Sequim High for the past two seasons, Lusk takes the reins after five successful seasons under Mike McFarlen.

Sequim made five consecutive state 2A tournament appearances under McFarlen, finishing fourth in 2012 and tied for seventh last season.

Lusk coached men’s softball in Michigan for a number of years before a Budweiser-sponsored fastpitch team recruited him to the Olympic Peninsula years ago.

“I lived and breathed it in Michigan,” Lusk says. “I just love the game. As a pitcher being in control of the game, there’s a lot of strategy.”

That background as a pitcher influences Lusk’s approach as he looks to lead the Wolves this spring.

“(We’ll be) aggressive; I like small-ball,” Lusk says, anticipating an offense that looks to put pressure on opposing defenses with sacrifice bunts and playing top-notch fundamentals on the defensive ends of innings.

Lusk says he isn’t interested in just coaching the game itself.

“It’s coming together as a team and sacrificing,” Lusk says. “I’m teaching them life lessons.”

“I tell the girls to do the best they can because we’re going to make some mistakes and have adversity.”

The new Sequim coach says because he’s been an assistant for a couple of years he’s already developed a rapport with the current players. Still, a daunting non-league schedule — including 2A powerhouses Archbishop Murphy and Lynden — in addition to their league slate has Lusk and the Wolves preparing for a challenging spring.

“There’s always pressure when you’re the new kid on the block,” Lusk says. “But I can see this team making districts and (getting) back to state.”

“I want to build a good program, for years down the road.”

Barring a postponement, Sequim kicks off its season March 11 hosting Archbishop Murphy, followed by a home date against 1A non-league foe Chimacum on March 13.

Look for a preview of fastpitch and Sequim’s other spring sports — baseball, golf, girls’ tennis, boys’ soccer and track and field — in the March 15 edition of the Sequim Gazette.