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Meet The Coaches
Rob Nelson, Ph.D.
Director of Softball & Head Coach @ Lima Sr. Havoc Travel Softball Program Director
Rob has been coaching for 15 years in a myriad of sports in the Lima, Ohio, West Virginia and Baltimore, MD. He has assisted the City of Lima and Lima City Schools in developing a softball program for inner city and at-risk girls for over a decade that has been quite successful taking young female student-athletes who have never played to reaching local and national recognition for advancements in athletic play (NFCA All-American, NFCA Regional All-Americans, OHSAA All-Ohio and All-District 1st, 2nd and HM)) and academics (NFCA Academic All-Americans). Rob is a former college professor (Statistics and Psychology) and current entrepreneur focusing locally on downtown development and real estate. He and his wife, Nicole, have a foundation, S-Cubed (Havoc), that focuses on women in sports and science and through that foundation, have helped numerous female student-athletes reach their higher educational goals. He is also the principal owner of the The Met (Restaurant - #1 on Yelp and Travelocity for 3 years straight in the region), and the future Lima Brewing Company, in Downtown Lima. Rob and his Lima Sr. Softball Staff were selected Region VIII Coaching Staff of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) in 2022 & in 2023 Rob was given the OHSAA Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Award for the entire State of Ohio. In 2022, he was voted Coach of the Year in the Three Rivers Athletic Conference and Employer of the year by Apollo Career Center, a school locally that recognized him for his work with high school students getting them college or job ready. Rob participates in numerous community organizations and boards, including and not limited to The Lima Symphony, Lima City Schools, Huntington National Bank, The City of Lima's Planning and Design Committee and the NFCA All-American Steering Committee 2021-2023.
Nicole Nelson, MD
A Neuroradiologist, Head of The Woman’s Wellness Center, former Chief of Staff at Mercy St. Ritas Medical Center and Athena Award Winner, Nicole works with young girls continually in the area and across the Midwest to promote women in science. She looks at softball as a conduit to get young scholar athletes interested in scientific fields by exposing them to professional women in the areas of science, math and technology. Nicole has been coaching hitting and the mental game of softball for 10 years and has the wonderful ability to make every girl feel confident no matter if they are in the batting cage or getting ready for a procedure in the hospital. Nicole is a Xavier, Univ of Cincinnati Medical School, Harvard Medical School (Radiology Residency - Chief Resident) and Northwestern (Neruoradiology and Cardiac Fellowships) graduate.
Kris Vandemark
u18/Infield
Kris is from Kalida, Ohio. She has three daughters and owns her own house cleaning business, Kris' Cleaning Company. She has always loved sports and attended the University of Cincinnati as a walk-on to play basketball. While playing at UC, she was a part of the first women's basketball team to make it to the NCAA tournament in 1988. Kris first started coaching basketball in the early 90's. At Kalida High School, she coached girls basketball for 10 years and during that time won a State Championship Title in 1997. After her husband, John, passed away, she gave up coaching basketball. Then, in 2012 reentered the coaching ranks in Softball at Kalida where she coached the high school team for six years and travel ball for four. Kris always had a passion for sports and coaching and hopes to be a role model to young student athletes here in our organization.
Molly Haberman
u14/Player Development/OF
Molly has been around and playing the game since the age of 5 and has been coaching at the High School level for the past 5 years. After attending High School in Port Clinton, she came to play softball for Bluffton University and is currently teaching Science and Reading at the Middle School level at Kalida. As a lifelong student and player of the game, she aims to pass down her passion and love for the game to young women currently finding theirs.
Jason Beard
u12/Hitting
Coach Jason is above all things, a family man. He has been married to his wife Amanda for 15 years and they have four children, Addie, Millie, Olen and Lottie.
Jason grew up between the chalk lines as a child and has displayed his talents as a baseball player, competitive softball player and coach for decades.
As a coach, Jason balances skill development, building relationships, having fun and instilling discipline into all of his players. He is honest, transparent, and encouraging.
Even as a u12 coach, Jason takes the time to get to know all of the Havoc athletes. It is not uncommon to find him sitting with parents shouting tips, encouragement or inside jokes from behind home plate to any of the older ladies any given weekend.
As much he loves to win, what drives him as a coach is to see his athletes develop into strong women, skilled athletes, and ball players with outstanding character.
