An era of softball at Pine Prairie High School that began in 1990 came to an end with the recent retirement of head coach Carolyn Deville. Even though she no longer paces up and down the third base line, her presence is still felt in the dugout. This presence, along with her legacy, helped propel this year’s Lady Panthers to the state championship game.
“Her legacy is something to deal with,” said current head coach Woody Harvey. “Coach Carolyn has been a phenomenal asset. Even when she is not here, we sound off things together. We learn each and every day from her experience.”
“We appreciate everything that she has done for this program,
Harvey continued. “We just hope that we try to continue what this school represents and the reputation she has built.”
Assisting Harvey on the coaching staff this season was former Lady Panther pitcher Alycia McDaniel Hebert. “I started playing for (Coach Carolyn) when I was in the sixth grade with the high school team as a runner,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot from her, and she’s actually the reason why I went into coaching. We won state here in 2005, and it was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in my life. I decided that I wanted to give back to all the young ladies that I could, just like she gave to me.”
“I still, to this day, call and ask her any questions that I have,” Hebert continued. “She may fuss me like she always has, but I always go to her for advice. She is definitely a huge impact on my life.”
The Lady Panthers’ trip to the state title game this year drew parallels of Hebert’s seasons playing for similar state titles under Coach Carolyn. “It brought me back, and I could just hear some of the stuff that she was hollering at me 13 years ago,” Hebert stated. “Knowing that I had that past experience, I tried to relate that to the girls this year and tell them to finish what they started. I was trying to give them some examples of what I knew I had gone through in my time and how we persevered through all the things.”
Coach Carolyn said it was special to see the program that she built reach this year’s state title game, but the ever modest ex-head coach gave all the credit to others around her.
“Never has it been my effort alone,” Deville expressed. “This has been an effort from the community. I cannot speak of Pine Prairie softball without speaking of the Pine Prairie community. This field is 20-years-old this year, and the dads through the years have built this, and Charlie Cloud just became our softball angel. Nothing would be here without the people and the volunteers of this community.”
Deville concluded, “It’s been a pleasure of mine to work with these high school girls. We have had some success, but it’s not my success. It’s been continuously a group effort of success here from getting this field moved here so that we could call it our own and have pride about ourselves here.”
Image
TONY MARKS