Meet the Coaches

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 Coach Chris Fredericks has led the Desert Mountain softball program for 10 years. He has led the Wolves to back-to-back-to-back 5A softball state championships in 2023, 2024 and 2025 and he was the AIA 5A Conference Coach of the Year for the 2023-2024 season.

He joined the Desert Mountain staff in 1997 and served as the Head Wrestling Coach for 19 years. He coached 14 All-State Wrestlers and 4 State Champions and was named Desert Valley Wrestling Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2008.

Coach Fredericks played football for Kaneland High School in Illinois, Scottsdale Community College and the University of Northern Iowa where he was a member of the NCAA Division IAA semifinalist team.

His goal is to teach Wolves to be leaders in the community and role models for future generations of Desert Mountain Student-Athletes. 

Coach Fredericks received his MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management and taught history at DMHS before retiring from teaching in 2023.

In his spare time, Coach Fredericks enjoys running. He has been married to his wife Natalie for 27 years and has two daughters, Peyton and Mia.

Coach John Tokach joined the Desert Mountain softball program in 2018-2019 and serves as the Assistant Varsity Coach. He was the Assistant Varsity Coach at Chaparral from 2015-2018 before joining Desert Mountain. Coach works with the pitchers and outfielders, and also focuses on base-running and game situations.

He has helped Coach Fredericks lead the 2023, 2024 and 2025 squads to three straight 5A State Championships. His favorite memory coaching at Desert Mountain was beating the odds and winning our first state championship in 2023.

Coach Tokach has coached club travel softball for 40 years, starting with Buena High School in Sierra Vista in 1985. He started coaching in club travel ball in 1995 with the Sierra Vista Diamonds 10U team. He also coached club teams including the East Valley Pride and Desert Wolves. He currently helps coach the Athletics Mercado 2K13 travel ball team in Chandler, AZ.

Coach Tokach was born in New Jersey and then spent 7 years in Germany before moving to Sierra Vista. He worked as a government contractor for 22 years in Sierra Vista and Scottsdale. John currently works at Tempe Diablo Stadium for the City of Tempe and coaches softball at Cheyenne Traditional middle school.

His goals in coaching softball are to make as many girls better players as possible.

Coach Tokach has 3 daughters named Erica, Ashton and Taylor and 12 grandchildren.

Coach Tim Spatz is joining the Desert Mountain softball staff in 2026 and will serve as the Junior Varsity Head Coach.

He has coached baseball, wrestling, flag football and softball for 39 years.

He began coaching T-ball and softball in middle school and high school and has continued throughout his teaching career beginning at St. Gregory (in Tucson), a various schools in Ohio including Columbia HS, Strongsville HS, Olmsted Falls MS, Brunswick HS, Cleveland State University and Baldwin Wallace University and, finally, at Desert Mountain HS. 

His favorite memory from coaching was seeing former student-athletes become successful humans and winning three state titles!

 Coach Spatz was born and raised in Berea, OH and  currently teaches in the Social Studies department at DM. 

He got his Bachelor of Science in Education at Bowling Green State University (1997), his Masters in Secondary Education for Curriculum and Instruction

at Ashland University (2002),  

and his Masters in Sociology at Cleveland State University (2009).

Coach Spatz earned 4 Varsity letters in Wrestling, earned 2 Varsity letters in Baseball, and 1 Varsity letter in Golf.

His goals in coaching softball are to prepare players physically, psychologically, and academically to compete at the next level.

Outside of softball, Coach Spatz's interests include reading, spending time with family and dogs, music, hiking, paddleboarding, playing baseball, and basically, anything outside…

He has been married to his wife Kristin for 5 years and has a son, Jacob (23) and stepdaughter Emma (21), He has two dogs, Ruebie (13 yo) and Zona (6 yo).

DM softball alum Emma Hollanti returns to campus for her 2nd season as an assistant coach.

Emma is a passionate and experienced softball coach who has been involved with the sport since 4th grade. Throughout her career, she has honed her skills on the field, playing on Varsity for all 4 years. She ended her high school career in 2023 celebrating at ASU Farrington Stadium with her teammates as part of Desert Mountain’s first-ever 5A state championship softball team.

Her deep love for the game and dedication to excellence has shaped her into the coach and trainer she is today. After high school, Emma pursued a career as a personal trainer and now runs her own business, *Body by Emma*. With years of experience training athletes at all levels, from professional players to young beginners, Emma brings a wealth of knowledge to her coaching. 

She is committed to helping athletes improve their game, building strength, and enhancing their overall athletic performance.

Emma returned to the softball field in 2025 with a mission to share her expertise and experience with the next generation of players. She is excited to help young athletes grow, develop, and reach their full potential, while also ensuring they have fun and gain valuable life lessons through the game of softball.