BY NOAH GRIFFITH
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN —
In her 35th year of coaching softball and fourth year at Lee-Scott Academy, JV and Varsity head coach Tina Deese was named the 2023 AISA Coach of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) after taking the Warriors to the state championship game.
It was a bumpy road to Lee-Scott’s first title game appearance under Deese, but it was nothing she hadn’t seen before after head coaching stints at Huntingdon College, Auburn University, Beauregard High School, Opelika High School and now Lee-Scott.
There’s not much that throws Deese off guard. When the sailor doesn’t fret, neither does the crew.
“When things aren’t going great, these kids don’t stop working,” Deese said. “They don’t stop getting in the cage, they don’t stop preparing, so that makes it a whole lot easier. They don’t give up because they know that anybody can get hot at any given time and have a shot at it.”
After a slow start to this year’s regular season, the Warriors shifted into high gear down the stretch, upsetting two area rivals — eventual state champion Macon East and putting up seven runs in the seventh inning to knock off Glenwood, who have a duo of Simone Gillespie and Anna Grace Griggs that Deese said she’d put up against anyone in the state, regardless of classification.
Lee-Scott got hot at the right time, but that’s not to say it was a fluke. According to Deese, the team consists of a lot of multi-sport athletes who “put the softball down May 5 and don’t pick it up again until Jan. 6.” So the first half of the season is spent getting into softball form, often leading to slow starts.
They have also notched better finishes each year with Deese. Besides a year that had no postseason due to the COVID outbreak in 2020, Deese has led her team to the state tournament each year she’s been with the Warriors. They earned a fourth place finish in 2021 and third place in 2022 before becoming runners-up to Macon East this season in a one-run loss in the title game.
Deese said she anticipates more success next season, but that doesn’t guarantee a championship in a highly competitive league. Another thing she’s learned in her time at Lee-Scott is that AISA competition is no joke.
“I’d put the AISA up against anybody,” Deese explained. “If people bothered to come out and watch a Lee-Scott versus Hooper, a Glenwood versus Macon East, a Bessemer versus Southern — Southern had an incredible pitcher this year — I think they’d walk away impressed. People seem to think our ball isn’t very good, but they’d see that we’re playing really good, very competitive ball.
“For example, Central (Phenix City) is a great team, but I’d put Glenwood or Macon East up against them and expect a good game if nothing else. Not to take anything away from Central — they’ve got speed, power, they’re well-trained, they’re great. But I’d put our kids up against them. Having seen them and played against them, I don’t think there’s a huge drop off between our 7A and AISA, at least among the elite teams.”
In addition to seeing high-level play from her team, she’s also been able to establish a team culture that fights — one that isn’t out of it when they have a losing record midway through the season and has no quit in them when they enter the seventh inning down by six.
This was the Warriors’ first title game appearance under Deese, but the tastes of playing in the big game — which the freshmen class of seven got from winning the JV state championship in the same year as playing in a title game with varsity — is going to help motivate the young team to make their way back.
“What made it so fun this year is my JV team won the state championship, too,” Deese said. “My freshmen — they were put in some pretty big moments and they rose to the occasion, and that was really, really good to see. The experience this year can’t do anything but help them in years to come.”
While Lee-Scott will miss the leadership from its two seniors, First-Team All-State selection Lindsey Joiner and catcher Janie Reeves, a freshman class that Deese said is “loaded” has three bright years ahead of them and will transition to full-time varsity players next season. Deese also mentioned shortstop Madison Davis, the team’s “offensive sparkplug,” and Mary Kathryn Harris as key returners to the squad.
Players come and go, but as long as Deese is around, the Warriors will continue to battle.
“There’s going to be some big shoes to fill, but we’ll fight again,” Deese said with confidence. “We’re going to miss Lindsey in the circle. We’re going to miss Janie behind the plate. We’re losing a lot in maturity and talent, but I’ve got a good crop returning that have been with it and know how to fight.”