Every city or town has them.
The season or sport don’t matter.
Whether it is an umpire, a coach, an administrator, a scorekeeper, a manager, every city or town — big and small — has individuals who give of themselves to make a difference in the lives of young people.
For me, one of those individuals was Arnie Mann. A longtime youth baseball coach and umpire, Mann helped teach me the fundamentals of baseball and how to be an umpire. He did it with a quiet intensity that commanded respect and made an impression on me at an early age. He also was a meticulous and fair administrator who handed out game assignments and made sure to offer compliments and constructive criticism to his umpires.
Looking back at how Mann influenced my life, I can understand the impact New Hope High School softball coach Cary Shepherd had on the lives of so many athletes in Lowndes County. Called the “mother of slow-pitch softball in the state of Mississippi,” Shepherd will be celebrated tonight at New Hope High in between the school’s girls and boys basketball games against West Point. The “Paint the Gym Purple” event was organized by former New Hope softball players Ame Robertson Walker and Laura Lee Holman, and is designed to be a show of support for Shepherd, who is battling Alzheimer’s Disease.
I arrived in Columbus nearly seven years ago, so Shepherd already had stepped aside and passed on her slow- and fast-pitch programs to Tabitha Beard, another former player. Even though Shepherd wasn’t the coach, her legacy lived on in championships — just take a look at the 15 signs on the outfield fence at Lady Trojan Field that chronicle the school’s dominance in the sport — goodie bags, scripture verses, and an overwhelming sense of team and family.
Those feelings are rare. Coaches often talk about building that atmosphere and that depth of connection with their players, but it is extremely difficult to cultivate and to nurture. Talking with people like former New Hope High coach Wayne Ellis, whose daughter, Jaime, played softball for Shepherd; Roger Short, a longtime umpire in this area and the former executive director of Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority; and Mike Halford, a former principal at New Hope High when Shepherd was coach there; helped me get an even clearer sense of how Shepherd built trust and showed her players she cared about them. Ellis, Short, and Halford — and several others interviewed about Shepherd — said variations of the same thing: Shepherd knew how to bring the best out of players without yelling.
“I don’t remember a time she made a bad decision,” Ellis said. “She was a heck of a motivator. She coached the kids from the love of her heart. She had a love for kids that was phenomenal.”
Ellis said New Hope wouldn’t be where it is or in the record book without Shepherd, who led the slow-pitch program to 18 playoff appearances, 19 division titles, 13 North State crowns, three state runner-up finishes and nine state championships. Her fast-pitch squads at the school had 10 playoff appearances, four district crowns, one North State title, and one state runner-up finish. All told, her softball teams had a record of 861-263 and won nine state championships.
Ellis also said Shepherd didn’t need to raise her voice to make a point. He said you could tell from the tone of Shepherd’s voice when she was making a point, so you had better listen.
“She would say, ‘We’ll work them and the cream is going to rise to the top,’ ” said Ellis, who coach with Shepherd and assistant coach Kathi Coleman. “The players that are going to play for us are going to rise to the top. We’ll find out who wants to play and who doesn’t.”
Halford, who was principal at New Hope High from 1992-2003 and then became superintendent of Lowndes County Schools, said he cherishes his friendship with Shepherd and her husband, Roscoe. He said you can’t mention one without the other because there were plenty of nights Cary and Roscoe would have a hot dog supper at the field when they were building the softball programs. He said there never was an incident in which Shepherd’s kids or her program were an embarrassment to the school, whether it was during the school year or outside of the school season.
“She had a very well-run program — a very family-based program — and I am not afraid to say a Christian-based program,” Halford said. “Cary and Roscoe are my friends. They were friends to a lot, a lot of people. You can’t mention softball anywhere in the state of Mississippi, especially slow pitch, without mentioning the name Cary Shepherd.”
Halford said Shepherd’s legacy is even more significant because she wasn’t only about softball. He said the players’ performance in the classroom was equally important to Shepherd. He said you would have had to experience it to get a true sense of the meaning of the T-shirts Shepherd created for her players. Beard said each one she received had a different saying that was made especially for her. You also would have had to experience it by talking to Shepherd after a game or following a practice to see how she built her players up and made them believe in her and themselves.
People like that are to be remembered. That’s why Halford suggested, even though he knows Lowndes County Schools don’t name their facilities after individuals, that New Hope High’s field should be given the name Shepherd Field. He said the program “deserves” that after the hours and sweat Cary and Roscoe invested in the young people of Lowndes County.
“Cary is just a person you know your life is better, or my life is richer, because I got to know Cary Shepherd,” Halford said.
I can say the same thing because Shepherd once sent me a hand-written note after I wrote a story about her. I also have spoken to her numerous times at New Hope High sporting events. For someone who meant so much to a school, a sport, and a city, re-naming New Hope High’s field Shepherd Field would be a fitting tribute for a special woman and her husband who helped make Columbus unique.
Adam Minichino is sports editor of The Dispatch. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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