It didn’t take Lake very long to find its next softball coach.
After Eric Neel stepped down to take the head softball job at East Central Community College, Lake turned to a somewhat familiar face in Louisville softball coach Keith Essary.
“They offered me the job last year and it just didn’t work out,” Essary said. “It was toward the end of school and they offered me the job and I needed time to talk with my wife and look for a house. It was a Friday and we were going to come up that weekend and look at housing. But they needed an answer that day and I told them if that was the case, I just couldn’t take it. That turned out to be the worst decision I have ever made.”
So when the Lake job came open for a second time in two years, Essary didn’t hesitate.
“I was at Water Valley and was going to go up there to be their softball coach,” Essary said. “But there was a problem with my paperwork. Then my phone started to blow up telling me not to sign and they were interested in me being the softball coach. I wasn’t going to pass that up a second time, know what kind of talent they had coming back. I wasn’t going to let that slip by again.”
Prior to coaching at Louisville, Essary was at George County for two seasons. At George County, Essary led the slow-pitch team to a 16-12 record in his first season and was 25-10 in his second season, leading the team to the championship game, where they eventually lost to Neshoba Central.
Essary takes over for Neel, who guided the Lady Hornets to the Class 2A state championship series, where they lost to St. Patrick in two games.
“They had a really good year and Coach Neel did a great job with them last year,” Essary said. “I feel like the talent is still there for me to be able to win championships the next two or three years. I’m really excited about it. I believe with what we have there, we can win a state championship.”
Essary said he is in the process of moving and has already had some practices with the Lady Hornets.
“We had our first weight lifting session and had 24 of 25 players show up,” Essary said. “You can tell they are used to hard work. We have gotten out and cleaned up some things around the facility. There was some heavy lifting there and they didn’t mind at all. They get in the weight room and don’t fool around. They get in there and work and that’s really nice.”
Essary said players usually get most of July off before slow-pitch practice starts on July 23. But because of getting a late start and trying to move, he doesn’t know what the schedule will be for the next three weeks.
