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2025 will mark Coach Viland's 5th season at the helm of the Pope Fastpitch program after serving as an assistant coach for four seasons, from 2017-2020. Coach Viland is an alumni of the Pope Fastpitch program, then returning to serve as an assistant coach under Coach Chris Turco. During Coach Viland's tenure, she assisted the Greyhounds to a top level of competition, finishing each of her 4 seasons as an assistant in Columbus. Coach Viland assisted the program to three straight state championship game appearances in 2018-2020, winning the AAAAAA State Championship in 2019 and finishing as state runners up in 2018 and 2020. Coach Viland has also been involved in 4 consecutive region championship victories as an assistant coach from 2017-2020. Coach Viland was named the Georgia Dugout Club AAAAAA Assistant Coach of the Year in 2019.
As Head Coach since 2021, Coach Viland has been a part of 3 more region championships, 3 trips to Columbus, a 3rd place state finish in 2021, a State Championship victory in 2022, and a state runner up finish in 2023. The 2022 Hounds set a program best wins and winning percentage with a 35-1 record, also earning the highest national finish in program history, with a #2 national ranking from MaxPreps and a #1 national ranking from Extra Innings Softball. In 2022, Coach Viland earned Cobb County Coach of the Year by Marietta Daily Journal. In 2022 and 2023, she was named State Coach of the Year by both the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association and The Georgia Dugout Club. Coach Viland has served as a coach for the GADC Senior All Star game and the GACA Junior North/South All Star Game. In 4 seasons, Coach Viland and her staff have amassed 120 wins.
Coach Viland graduated from the University of Georgia and has taught at Pope since 2018, first in the special education department and currently in the math department.
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Natalie Lampert is a 2011 graduate of Pope High School who returned to her alma mater in 2015 for her inaugural year with Pope Fastpitch. 2025 will mark Coach Lampert's 11th year as a coach in the program. Natalie was a member of the 2010 Pope softball team that secured the program's first ever playoff victory against Creekview High School in the 2010 playoffs. The 2010 team set the school record for wins (at that time) with 19. For her efforts in her senior season of 2010, Natalie was named to the All-State softball team as an outfielder joining fellow Pope coach Jennifer Miller as the only two players at the time to achieve the prestigious award. Natalie's 2010 team was instrumental in the creation and implementation of Pope Fastpitch's tradition of creating a team "Mission Statement" and Natalie was part of Pope Fastpitch's inaugural class of "Mission Protectors".
Coach Lampert served as JV head coach until 2020, and helped lead the JV season to many record breaking seasons. Coach Lampert has served as an assistant varsity coach during her tenure, and has led the team in reaching five state championship game in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022, and 2023 and securing the AAAAAA State Championship victory in both 2019 and 2022. The 2024 season continued a streak of 15 straight state playoff appearances started by Lampert's senior class at Pope back in 2010. Coach Lampert was named the GADC State Assistant Coach of the Year in 2019.
Upon graduation from Pope High School, Natalie continued her playing career for coach Jamie Grodecki at Georgia College and State University (GCSU) in Milledgeville, Georgia. At GCSU, Natalie was part of the winningest team in school history as the 2013 team posted a then school record 37 wins. Natalie brings a wealth of experience to the Greyhounds after having played in 85 college games and playing an important role in the GCSU outfield where Natalie made only 1 career error during her college tenure. In two of her college seasons, 2012 and 2014, Natalie posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in the outfield). Natalie was also a force on the bases for GCSU, posting a career 83% success rate in stolen bases while scoring 43 career runs.
In 2015 Natalie earned a bachelor's degree in special education and she is currently part of the special education department at Mt. Bethel Elementary School. She resides in Kennesaw with spouse Jess and kids: Peyton, Kendall, and Brooklyn.
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Coach Liedberg will begin his 8th year on board the Greyhound coaching staff this season. Coach Liedberg's energy, enthusiasm, and expertise at his craft is a secret weapon for the Pope Fastpitch team and has done nothing but build a reputation of success. In his 8 years on staff, the Hounds have reached the final four in seven seasons, ultimately finishing in third place in 2021, state runner-up in 2018, 2020, and 2023, and as AAAAAA State Champions in 2019 and 2022. For his efforts in 2022, Coach Liedberg was named GADC State Assistant Coach of the Year. Coach Liedberg works in all aspects of the program, and leads the pitching and catching staff as our pitching coordinator.
Coach Liedberg is also a member of the Pope baseball staff where he began coaching in the 2018 season. During these 8 years, the baseball program achieved great success as the Greyhounds reached the state championship in 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024, winning the AAAAAA State Championship in 2019 and 2022, and reaching the final four in the 2021 season (the 2020 spring season was cancelled due to COVID-19). Since Liedberg joined the Pope Baseball and Softball programs in 2018, he has played for 10 state championships, ultimately winning two for baseball (2018, 2022) and two for softball (2019, 2022).
Coach Liedberg is a 2009 graduate of Pope High School where he was a key member of the 2009 Pope Baseball state championship team that finished ranked 10th in the country. As a fire-balling pitcher, Coach Liedberg continued his pitching career at Gardner Webb University in Shelby North Carolina. After completing his playing career, Coach Liedberg worked multiple jobs in the baseball field, working as operations manager for 6-4-3 baseball and serving a short stint as an intern with the Atlanta Braves. It was with the Braves that Coach Liedberg realized his true calling was the education field, and Coach Liedberg went back to school to earn his education degree so he could become a teacher. Coach Liedberg began teaching at Pope during the 2018-2019 school year and is a part of the social studies department after previously working within the Transition Academy. Coach Liedberg resides in Woodstock with his wife Emily.
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Meghan Rud is in her 3rd season with the Pope Fastpitch coaching staff. A 2014 graduate of South Forsyth High School and went on to a prestigious collegiate career to play for Coach Stephanie DeFeo at Mercer University in Macon, where she was a force to reckon with at the plate, on the basepaths, and in the outfield. Coach Rud leads our jv team while serving as slapper and baserunning specialist. In 2024, Coach Rud and JV coaching staff led the team to the program record of 18 wins!
Meghan Rud is in her second season with the Pope Fastpitch coaching staff. A 2014 graduate of South Forsyth High School and went on to a prestigious collegiate career to play for Coach Stephanie DeFeo at Mercer University in Macon.
Meghan earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and then went on to earn her doctorate of physical therapy from Mercer. She currently works for Form Physical Therapy in Roswell.
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Christy Burges (formerly Flick) is a 2011 graduate of Pope High School who returned to her alma mater in 2021. Christy was a member of the 2010 Pope softball team that secured the program's first ever playoff victory against Creekview High School in the 2010 playoffs. The 2010 team set the school record for wins (at that time) with 19. Christy pitched, played outfield and first base for the Hounds, then went on to play at the collegiate level at Lagrange University, where she was primarily a pitcher and first baseman.
While at Lagrange, Christy played in 120 games, hitting .322 for her career and earned USA South Academic All-Conference and was selected to the USA South All-Tournament team in 2013. She has led the JV program to setting the new school JV wins record twice! First in her inaugural season in 2021 and again in the 2024 season.
Christy earned a degree in business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship. She resides in East Cobb with her husband, Douglas Burges and 2 year old son Tormund (TJ) Burges.
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Pope Alumni Abby Rocco will begin her 2nd season with the Greyhounds. Abby assisted as a community coach during the 2024 season and is now on the coaching staff full time in 2025. A Pope player from 2017-2020, she helped lead the program to 2 state runner up finishes and a state championship in 2019. Her expertise in infield play will be an asset to the Pope Fastpitch team this season.
Upon graduation from Pope, Abby attended and played at Emmanuel University in Franklin Springs, first under legendary coach Kevin Fagan, and ending her career under head coach Kenneth Bellamy. Coach Bellamy's squad, led by Abby Rocco as a senior, competed in the conference Carolinas and made a strong push into the conference semi-final game.
Abby will be assisting both varsity and jv programs, and will be teaching English at Pope High School beginning in the 2025-2026 school year.
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