A Student of the Game
Richard “Rick” Twigg
didn’t give softball much
thought while growing up
in Cumberland in the sixties and
seventies. That’s not the case now.
Twigg, who was named ACM’s
head softball coach in June,
developed a love for the game
unexpectedly in 1996 when his
daughter, Kim (Twigg) Root, then
a freshman at Allegany High
School, announced she wanted
to play softball in college. Twigg’s
family decided it was time to
learn everything they could
about the game. Twigg had the
pleasure of coaching both Kim and
his youngest daughter, Lindsey
(Twigg) Farnsworth, at Alco.
Even after coaching for more
than two decades, Twigg considers
himself a student of the game.
He served as an assistant
softball coach at Allegany High
school for four seasons before
taking over head coaching duties
in 2000. During his 19 years as
head coach, the team amassed a
total of 308 wins, 105 losses, and
a winning percentage of .746%.
The Lady Campers won two 1A
State championships (1996 and
2010), seven city and conference
championships, and four regional
championships during his tenure.
In 1996, he founded the
Cumberland Heat Girls’ Fastpitch
Association and has been actively
involved ever since. During his
time as head coach, studentathletes
At a time when athletic play was cut short due to COVID-19 and millions resorted to watching sports rebroadcasts or attempting ridiculous trick-shots
using toy basketball hoops or imaginative Rube-Goldberg contraptions, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) shared its 2019-2020
All-Academic Recognition list of 9,555 student-athletes. The NJCAA presented All-Academic Student-Athlete Awards to ACM’s Casey White, Will Brauer,
Xavier Michaels, MacKenzie Stotler, and Barry “O’Bray” Rufus.
White, a freshman baseball player, made the All-Academic First Team. Brauer and Michaels, both freshmen soccer players, and Stotler, a freshman
softball player, were named to the All-Academic Second Team. Rufus, a sophomore basketball player, made the All-Academic Third Team.
Student-athletes are eligible to earn academic honors by achieving an overall grade point average of 3.60 or higher for the 2019-20 academic year.
To make the NJCAA All-Academic First Team, a student-athlete must earn a 4.00 GPA, the Second Team requires a 3.80 to 3.99, and the Third Team
necessitates a 3.60 to 3.79.
9 ACCESS ACM / Reimagining Dreams
from the Lady Campers
softball team were recruited
to play for a variety of Division
I, II, III and JUCO colleges
and universities, including but
not limited to, Delaware State
University, Liberty University,
Mount St. Mary’s University,
Providence College, Salem
University, Shippensburg
University and UMBC.
As he did at Allegany High
School, Twigg is determined
to build a successful program
at ACM.
A Cumberland native, Twigg
played baseball and football for
Fort Hill High School. He enrolled
in the IBEW (International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers)
Local 307 apprenticeship program
in 1978 after high school and
worked as a Union electrician
for 24 years. Currently a plant
manager for the New England
Fertilizer Company (NEFCO),
he resides in Cresaptown with
his wife, Pam.
#GoTROJANS
“I’m 100 percent committed to creating a
winning culture at the college, starting with our
new softball field’s construction and hopefully
ending with consecutive championship titles.”
The Smart Play: ACM Student Athletes Receive All-Academic Honors