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It’s one thing to have a lot of potential heading into the season. It’s another thing to be able to live up to that potential.

That’s exactly what the Morristown West softball team did during the 2023 season. The Lady Trojans were perfect in district play, breezing through the District 2-4A Tournament as well. West then won their Region 1-4A Semifinal game against D-B, their first Region win in 14 years.

While the Lady Trojans came one strike away from their first ever State Tournament appearance, West still had a season that won’t be forgotten anytime soon. For this, West’s Heather Kelley has been named the Citizen Tribune Lakeway Area Softball Coach of the Year.

“I want to start by saying thank you for recognizing me, but one I have to give God the glory and two a coach doesn’t get this honor without having great players,” Kelley said.

For Kelley, she knew that this team had the ability to be special but also knew just how hard it would be to make a postseason run.

“I knew we all thought this could be a special year but I also knew coming into the season how hard it is to make a deep run especially with some of the teams in our district, regionals and sectionals,” Kelley said. “I also knew with only having 12 players we were one injury away from being a really special team to an average team.

“But I also knew we had all of the pieces. We had a powerhouse pitcher, an unreal leader in our catcher, an unmatched competitive spirit at shortstop, one of the best first basemen I’ve seen, a great leader and teammate at second base, new blood and a great defensive player at third, a passionate leader in left field, a near perfect center fielder, a great teammate in right field along with three freshman willing to help in any capacity.”

One of the reasons for the success for West, who finished the season 22-12, was the leadership from the entire team. While the seniors led the way, Kelley said that each class had good leaders that provided a lot to the chemistry of the team.

“I don’t know that I will be able to replace the leadership in our catcher Jaelyn McDaniel,” Kelley said. “What made her leadership stand out from others (besides her great play offensively and defensively) is her love for the game and her love for her teammates. There are very few people who I feel match my competitive spirit and heart but this team matched it and maybe even surpassed it. We had a leader in Aviah Bunsic as well who was one of the most competitive spirits I’ve ever seen. Her will to win was contagious and watching her grow into the player she has become has been a blessing. Honestly, each class had leadership. The junior class brought a ‘silent’ leadership. They weren’t in your face vocal but led by their play and great work ethic. The sophomores were the young energy and vocals. They brought a tremendous amount of energy that was contagious and the freshman knew their role and brought a great selfless energy.”

It was a back-and-forth start to the season for West, however a tournament game in late March against Halls opened Kelley’s eyes to just how good her team could be. Playing against a Halls team that won 30 games in 2023 and battling injuries and fatigue after multiple games in one day, the Lady Trojans battled to the end before falling.

“I think when we were in the Eastman tournament and going toe to toe with Halls (a prestigious program) I felt we had arrived and could possibly make a run,” Kelley said. “We had injured players and we had played so many games and were just dead tired but we were right there playing with them all the way to the last pitch.”

From there, the Lady Trojans caught fire and won their next six games. It wasn’t all easy though as West dealt with injuries and dropped their final two games of the regular season.

However, West found their rhythm again in the District Tournament as they ran the table. The culmination was a 7-1 win, and fourth victory of the season, over Morristown East in the District Championship. It was West’s second straight District Title.

“Winning is always special and should never be taken for granted,” Kelley said. “Back-to-back district championships is a really big deal for this program. It takes years to build a program and the players before this group started laying the groundwork. This group sealed the deal and I hope keeps us a powerhouse for years to come. There has been a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to this position and I’m so grateful for all of the girls and families who have made the sacrifice and put in the time to get the program to where it is.”

The District Championship was the first goal accomplished for West but it wasn’t the last as they set their eyes on a Region Tournament win, something the Lady Trojans had not done in 14 years.

West’s opponent in the Region Semifinals was Dobyns-Bennett, a team that had knocked them out in the Region Semifinals the year before. The Lady Trojans seemed well on their way to accomplishing that goal, going up 4-0 heading to the sixth inning. But D-B wouldn’t go away quietly as they tied the game in the seventh.

The game continued until the ninth inning when Jaelyn McDaniel finally ended things with an RBI single to give the Lady Trojans a 5-4 win.

“It couldn’t happen to a better person,” Kelley said. “I think a lot of times we get caught up in the glamor and luster of home runs and it changes our swings and even the approach in the box. We really tried to push the theme of being a good teammate this year and being selfless. We stressed that we didn’t need homeruns, we needed to string base hits together and that’s exactly what we did in the biggest win of the season up to that point. So for me, it was poetry in motion.”

The Lady Trojans moved on to the Region Championship, where they would fall to Daniel Boone. That forced West to travel for their State Sectional game. And standing in their way of their first ever State Tournament appearance was Farragut, the back-to-back State Champions.

While it would have been easy for West to be star-struck by the Lady Admirals, the Lady Trojans came out firing with two runs in the first. West eventually upped their lead to 4-2 heading to the final inning.

Unfortunately for West, the Lady Trojans came one strike away before Farragut tied the game. The game went to extras where Farragut ended the game in the ninth with a two-out, three-run homer.

The game was a roller coaster of emotions for Kelley and, while it didn’t end in her favor, she is still proud of the way her team competed.

“The Farragut game was a gamut of emotions for me,” Kelley said. “The first emotion that came was the feeling of Hoosiers. We had 12 players to their 20 plus, the facilities were state of the art, a program that was back to back state champions with a transfer who was about to break the state record for homeruns. No one gave us a chance. I personally felt a shift in the atmosphere when we were warming up and taking full infield. I could feel Farragut watching and seeing our defense was near flawless, we weren’t intimidated, we felt we belonged there and we were going to give them our best shot.

“Bri ‘hit them in the mouth’ right out the gate as our lead off and Jaelyn drove in Bri and Aviah to put us on the board in the first inning. Toward the middle and end of the game I started having these flooding thoughts of ‘we are going to do this, we are going to shock everyone, we are going to be at the state tournament next week’ and I would feel overwhelmed with these thoughts but tried to keep myself focused and not shifting from ‘playing to win not playing not to lose.’ To be very honest, I visualized Peter stepping off the boat and keeping his eyes focused on Jesus. When Peter doubted and took his eyes of Jesus he started to sink. I learned this “focus technique” when taking care of my dad and it helps me refocus and drown out doubt and all other emotions when I need to trust and stay focused in situations. The beauty of it is the story was already written. We showed up and played our hearts out and it ended the way God intended. Everyone says, ‘one pitch away’ but the truth is throughout the game there were mishaps offensively and defensively that could have really secured the game. The Farragut game will forever be one of my all time favorites. There were so many great plays made on the biggest stage.”

In the end, it was a magical season for Kelley and West. And while it didn’t end in a State Tournament appearance, it was a successful one in many ways.

“This season was covered with awards and accolades but none of that compares to the spiritual growth I had and believe some of the players had,” Kelley said. “I have been surrounded with some great spiritual leaders like Scott McMinn and other advisers who helped me and the girls stay focused. I believe the position of being a coach is uniquely designed by God to give life to athletes that He has ordained for us to coach. This is a responsibility I don’t take lightly. I have failed some athletes I’m sure but my heart was always in the right spot. I thank God for the opportunity to coach this team.”