Samantha Vogel and Tom Velek didn’t need to know Gray Massey for very long to tell he was real.
It also didn’t take long for Vogel and Velek to discover Massey wasn’t another coach. In fact, Massey was a lot more than just a coach.
“What you saw is what he was,” said Vogel, a former standout at New Hope High School who played for Massey this past season at the Mississippi University for Women. “He wore his heart on his sleeve. He genuinely cared about you. He loved all of the girls. He cared about us as people and getting us where we needed to be, not just in soccer.”
Vogel and Velek shared their memories about Massey on Sunday after learning about the passing of The W women’s soccer coach. The W Director of Athletics Jason Trufant confirmed Sunday afternoon that Massey, 41, had died. He said his wife received a phone call from Massey’s wife, Lauren, about 7 a.m. Sunday informing them of Gray’s death. It is unclear at this time when Massey passed away.
Trufant said there is no definitive answer as to what caused Massey’s death.
“I can’t think of another person who in as short of a time I have had a pleasure to know him who has had such an impact on me as Gray Massey,” said Velek, who is director of coaching for the Columbus Soccer Organization (CSO) and is a professor at The W. “He was a passionate individual. He was ready to dive in completely to working with (Columbus United). He coached rec in the fall and took on the U-9 girls for Columbus United. He had players and parents immediately committed to working with that team. It is a tremendous loss.”
Velek said he received a call from Lee Milam informing him of Massey’s passing. He said he didn’t believe the news. Velek said he talked to Massey on Friday. He also said Massey had signed up to play in the adult league sponsored by CSO and the Columbus Recreation
Department.
Velek worked in multiple capacities with Massey. Even though he didn’t know Massey for very long, he said everyone who worked with Massey knew he was a great guy and would do anything to help you. He said Massey displayed that mind-set when he assumed leadership of the U-9 club team and made everyone feel a part of the team.
“He was giving. He loved the sport,” Velek said. “He jumped in both feet for the kids playing soccer in this community. It is just terrible.
“It is just a punch in the gut. It makes no sense.”
Velek said he and Massey developed a catch phrase — “Livin’ the life” — that related to all aspects of life. He said Massey’s ability to be engaged and to be happy in everything he did impacted him in a big way. Velek said Massey played a big role in helping former Heritage Academy standout Haley Marie Fisackerly play soccer at The W and was able to figure out ways to make things work for all parties.
“I wish I had a chance to know him for a lot longer period of time, and I wish I would have had a chance to work with him in this program for a lot longer period of time, but I am extraordinarily grateful for the time I got to work with him.”
Vogel helped Massey coach an Under-9 girls soccer team with Columbus United. The team was scheduled to play multiple matches Sunday.
Vogel said she didn’t know how Massey did it but he related so well to the U-9 team. He said he found ways to keep them quiet and interested, which she said is an accomplishment for a coach leading younger players. Vogel said Massey was the same way with The W players in the program’s first season in 2018. The W went 5-11 in its inaugural season and won four of its final five matches, including its last three.
“Anybody he met he had a positive impact on them,” Vogel said. “He only been with (the U-9 team) a month and a half and the impact he already had on their lives was insane.”
Vogel said Massey fostered relationships like that because he got to know his players and allowed them to get close to him. She said that built trust and enabled them to go to his office to talk about anything, to vent, or to cry if they needed to. Vogel said not all coaches build that kind of rapport with their players, so it was a pleasure to play for him and to get to know him.
“He was very open, so it made it easy for you to open up to him,” Vogel said. “He was big on team bonding. I definitely wish I had some more time with him. … He was an amazing coach. I knew that with us and then the little girls. He just knew exactly what to do.”
Massey joined The W athletic department after five seasons as the coach of the East Central Community College women’s soccer team. Massey led the program to the semifinals of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges / National Junior College Athletic Association Region 23 tournament for the first time in the program history.
Massey, who was from Brandon, received a bachelor’s degree in sociology at Mississippi College in May 2001. He completed a master’s degree in coaching education at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, in 2013.
Prior to ECCC, Massey served as head coach for the girls and boys soccer team at Florence High School. His teams grabbed three consecutive state titles during his eight-year tenure.
Massey’s resume included stints as coach for the Jackson Futbol Club and Aggieland Soccer Club. He also worked as a goalkeeper coach at Texas A&M Women’s Soccer Camp summer camps in College Station.
Massey was a former standout soccer player at Northwest Rankin High School. He received a soccer scholarship to Hinds C.C., where the goalkeeper was an All-Region 23 selection in 1996. He continued his success at Mississippi College in Clinton, where in 1998 he was named second-team All-Eastern Division in the American Southwest Conference.
Massey lived in Columbus with his wife and two children.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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