Dana LeViere remembers playing softball for Northgate High School in the late 1990s, and the Flames were generally a good team.

They perennially qualified for the postseason, but were always stuck behind Sto-Rox -- a traditional powerhouse -- as a section rival.

LeViere recalls, however, one particular game when Northgate could sniff an upset when it led Sto-Rox, 1-0, in the fifth inning.

"I was the only one excited," LeViere said. "The [rest of the] team couldn't care less. I was so mad. Any other team would be so excited. I was like, 'C'mon!' And they were all just, 'Yeah, who cares.'"

The ultra-competitive LeViere vowed she would never let a team she was a part of have the same attitude again.

LeViere, a 1998 Northgate graduate and former player at Bethany College, was named the head coach of the Pitt-Greensburg women's softball team last month. LeViere replaced Erica Exler, who resigned.

"I'm always looking for girls who have good attitudes," LeViere said. "I'd rather have a girl on my team with a great attitude who might not be on the top [talent] level but worked her butt off for you and [someone] you can train.

"This year is a big year for me. They only won five games last year, and, me personally, I have to set the sights a lot higher. I don't like to lose."

As much for her passionate demeanor as for resume, LeViere was chosen from among several candidates that applied to take over the program, which is less than a decade old and has not had a winning record in conference play.

LeViere's family has been involved in playing, coaching and administrating softball "pretty much since I can remember," she says. Her father, Richard, has been running baseball and softball clinics in the area. Her sister, Laura LeViere Cymmerman, is the head coach at Seton Hill.

"Dana kind of stuck out simply because of her background and then she just did really well in the interview," said Marcus Kahn, Pitt-Greensburg interim athletic director. "Her playing experience we liked, too. We were really impressed with her."

Exler was a friend of LeViere's through their time playing with and against each other, and LeViere said Exler called her and encouraged her to apply for the job Exler was vacating for family reasons.

LeViere, who has experience at just about every position as a player, has served as the pitching coach at Bethany and was an assistant at Northgate this past season.

"I am looking forward to teaching girls the right way to do things," said LeViere, who was part of Bethany teams that won the Presidents' Athletic Conference title every year she played, including a trip to the College World Series, where the Bison finished sixth in the nation.

LeViere said that although it is unlikely they will meet this coming season, she can't wait to schedule a game against Seton Hill for sibling bragging rights.

"They're anxious to play against each other," their father said.

But Seton Hill is NCAA Division II and Pitt-Greensburg Division III, a fact Dana LeViere is well aware of -- but not to use as an excuse. Quite the opposite, actually.

"In small-school recruiting, the big thing is you have to find those girls who didn't get a scholarship at the Division-I or II level and are looking to play," LeViere said.

"The bad thing about Division III is that a lot of girls just want to play to have fun and are not as dedicated. They're playing more as, in their minds, an intramural sport. You have to weed those girls out if you want to build a strong program."