Friday Features: And baby makes – another teammate for MC softball
By Maurice Patton
As if coaching college athletics isn’t enough of a test by itself,
Brooke O’Hair added a little bundle of joy to the mix this season.
The veteran
Mississippi College softball coach gave birth to her first son – Cooper Anthony – on Jan. 20, 17 days before the Lady Choctaws were set to open their season at the Ronnie Hawkins Invitational tournament in Arkadelphia, Ark.
Despite the early curveball, the program has rallied to an 11-8 (3-6 Gulf South Conference) start heading into this weekend’s three-game league series at Shorter.
“It’s been very interesting – a little challenging at times,” O’Hair said. “I’m thankful I’ve got an administration that allows me to bring him to work and a coaching staff and team that loves him to death. We’re making it work.”
These days, O’Hair is making it to work, which is a relief to her after being away from her team for nearly two weeks following Cooper’s arrival. From a scheduling aspect, those two weeks were pivotal as final preseason workouts were taking place.
“It’s hard for a coach not to be with their team,” she said. “I was really frustrated, especially when I had to sit home and not do anything. But I had people supporting me even when I didn’t want to be doing what I was doing.
“I was out until Feb. 1 or Feb. 2, then came to practice and sat, tried to instruct from a chair. Then we went to Arkadelphia on Feb. 5. I’ve taken off maybe one or two days since we got back, but I’m full-go now. Last Tuesday (Feb. 23) I started doing everything, trying to make my body get back into the groove of things.”
Cooper is O’Hair’s second child. Sydney Jo, 7, was born in July – “that was a little better planning,” the coach said.
And although Cooper is a little over a month old, preparation for his impact on the Lady Choctaws has been ongoing for some time.
“We started putting a game plan together when all this came about,” O’Hair said. “I started working with the staff to take on responsibilities that they hadn’t had to (previously). The administration was helping them, making sure everything was turned in. I talked to them about practices. Our SWA (Senior Women’s Administrator,
Susan Musselwhite) is a former softball coach, and we were planning on me not going on the first road trip – I probably shouldn’t have gone – so she went.
“Coaching duties were completely switched around because I couldn’t coach a base. The whole fall I couldn’t do a lot, the first two weeks of spring practice I wasn’t around. It’s been really nice to see some of the upperclassmen and even freshmen helping each other out. If it wasn’t for all of that, this whole season would be a disaster. They’ve been great through all of this.”
So has Cooper, though changing diapers in the middle of practice wasn’t something O’Hair ever envisioned when she took over the MC program 10 years ago, after starting for four years at Mississippi State and spending a season coaching at Pass Christian (Miss.) High School.
“He’s a very good baby,” she said. “There’s not an issue with any major problems taking care of him. It’s just – he’s at work; who do you give the attention to? When he needs something, I didn’t have a babysitter coming up for a while, so I had to pause and take care of it. The girls weren’t getting all of me at practice. Once we got a former player to come watch him, things got a little easier. Trying to adjust and get everything taken care of was the biggest thing.”
Taking care of the infant during games once O’Hair resumed coaching has been an all-hands-on-deck affair between husband Tony – himself a local high school coach – and both sets of grandparents.
From both a family and a professional standpoint, the support has been reassuring, but not surprising.
“MC is a ‘family’ college,” she said. “We’re all about family. Kids are being born left and right throughout the staff. It’s just that I was the only female.
“My main concern was, could (my assistants) pick up the duties I couldn’t do any longer – fungoes, (batting practice), recruiting, game scheduling, things you never think about not getting done or having an issue with. But they learned a whole different part of the game. Everybody’s matured. I think me having this child has made us a better staff and a better team overall. We communicate better, the girls communicate better, because we’ve all had to mature. I think all is going to work out to make us stronger in the end.”
Already O’Hair is beginning to see the difference in her team with her increased involvement. After a 6-8 start, the Lady Choctaws take a five-game winning streak on the road this weekend, including a three-game sweep of visiting GSC rival West Alabama.
“I’m a hands-on coach,” she said. “I love being out there teaching these kids. It’s mentally challenging when you can’t do it. We’re losing ballgames because of minor mental or physical mistakes, because I wasn’t there to teach them those things.
“You can see the growth the last week and a half, as a team and individually.”
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