Elma honors one of its legends

Published 1:30 am Monday, May 11, 2026

ELMA–Though its been over a decade since he coached a high school game game at Elma’s Legacy Field, his impact on the Eagles softball program and community still reverberates.

The loss of former Eagles softball coach Mitchell Todd, who passed away after a vehicle collision on May 3, left many an Eagle with a heavy heart as the man who was instrumental in guiding the Eagles to a state championship in 2014 was remembered on Friday.

In a ceremony ahead of the Elma-Cedar Park Christian game, dozens of family, friends and members of the Elma softball community came to pay their respects to a man that meant so much to softball in Grays Harbor.

“Anyone who knew Mitchell as a coach knew how much he cared about the game, but even more about the people playing it,” said Elma head coach Ashley Stancil, one of several speakers at the ceremony. “He was competitive, passionate, loud when he needed to be and never afraid to tell you exactly what he thought. And honestly, that’s part of what made him so special. … This field holds so many memories for so many of us. Wins, losses, practices, championships, laughs, lessons and lifelong friendships. And standing here tonight, it’s impossible not to think about how much of this program has Mitchell’s fingerprints on it. This dirt, these fields are part of the roots of what he helped build.”

An Elma alum from the class of 1984, Todd coached the Eagles from 2001 to 2014, including a third-place state trophy and a 1A State Championship in 2014 alongside his wife and former Elma head coach Janene.

Despite Mitchell and Janene retiring from the Elma coaching staff after the 2014 state title, Mitchell kept a keen eye on his beloved Eagles softball team.

“When I became head coach in 2020, one thing never changed, I could always count on multiple text messages from Mitchell during games telling me what my girls were doing wrong, sometimes before I even realized it myself.” Stancil said. “Half the time, I never even saw him there, but somehow he always was. Even now, after a big win, I still expect my photo to light up with a text from him. That’s who Mitchell was to so many people. Even when he wasn’t standing right beside you, you felt his presence. You felt his support. You felt how deeply he cared.”

During the ceremony, the Todd family was presented with a plaque of Mitchell’s accomplishments and former players joined them on the field for photos.

Pastor Mike Mueller of Abundant Life Church led attendees in prayer as the community rallied together to get through a difficult loss.

“I truly believe God put Mitchell and his family in my life for a reason,” Stancil said. “Without him, I honestly don’t think I ever would have found my love for coaching. And I definitely don’t think I would have found my way into this incredible community that has shown up so fully this week and tonight.”

Mitchell’s loss didn’t just hit the Elma community, but has been felt across the Grays Harbor softball community as a whole.

“What I loved about Mitch was he was so passionate about the sport that he would do anything for his players,” said Montesano head coach Pat Pace, who played on a slowpitch softball team and coached a summer-ball squad with Mitchell for several years. “You’d always see him during the offseason at basketball, volleyball, soccer rooting his players on. It didn’t matter what sport they played, he encouraged them to do all of them then comeback and play softball together as a team. I think that’s what made them strong as a team. … Mitch will be missed because of the fact he was so passionate about the sport and caring about the kids.”

Mitchell’s son Dalton reminisced on his father’s memories of the 2014 state championship team.

“I want to give special recognition to the 2014 state team. There isn’t any moment my dad talked about more than you girls, how well you did and how proud of you he is,” said Dalton, while understandably choking back tears. “I just want to say thank you to everyone being here today. It means a lot. I think some of us forget this sometimes that are from this community, but it means something to be from Elma, and it means something to be an Eagle, and don’t you forget that.”