For almost as long as Paula Piercey can remember, softball has been her life. Outside of her faith and her family, it is the most important thing in her life. She grew up playing softball – first in slow pitch then later in fast pitch – and used her talent on the field to earn a college education.
Initially, she sought a career in recreation. That led her to Sherwood Christian Academy, where Piercey is now the head softball coach. How did it happen? Timing, luck, and a little help from above.
Piercey attended Heritage High School in Conyers, where she played softball. At the time, Heritage played slow-pitch. Piercey began playing fast-pitch travel ball but continued playing slow-pitch with Heritage. With her travel ball team, Piercey played in several national tournaments and made a few All-Tournament teams as a pitcher.
College programs noticed the way she played and began contacting her. Piercey attended LaGrange College her freshman year, pitching and playing second base. She was Freshman of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, All-Region, and All-Conference. She transferred to Georgia Southwestern State University after her freshman year and played her final three years there. Piercey picked up more awards her senior year, being named All-Region, All-Conference, All-American Honorable Mention, and Pitcher of the Year. Piercey also did well in the classroom, making the Dean’s List twice during her career.
Piercey graduated from Georgia Southwestern in 2000 with a degree in recreation. She taught private pitching lessons beginning in 1999, and worked at the Lee County Parks and Recreation Department after graduation. She was very involved in Lee County’s recreation softball program during her time there.
“When I was giving private lessons, I learned that I loved helping other people. My heart is helping others achieve their goals. I love to see the smiling faces when it all comes together,” she said. “First a person has to figure out what their God-give talent is and then we as coaches help perfect that talent. I feel like it is only right to help pass along the knowledge of the game that I have. God has given me this talent and I want to teach it to others.”
In 2007, Piercey’s father passed away and she and her husband, Ross, moved back to Conyers to work at the family business that had been going since 1957. The economic downturn took the business and she returned to South Georgia in 2008. Piercey took a job at the YMCA as youth sports director.
In 2008, Piercey, her husband Ross, and their young son began attending Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany. She volunteered with the softball program there while she continued to work at the Y. When the head coaching job opened up, she was ready to take the job. Sherwood’s athletic director, Eddie Dixon, also used to work with the Lee County Parks and Recreation Department and was very familiar with Piercey’s knack for teaching the game. He offered her the job in May of this year and she accepted.
“I was led to Sherwood because I was meeting a need for the school. I knew all of the girls from volunteering there. I prayed about it and now I’m the head coach,” she said.
Piercey’s vision for the program is to be competitive and to grow. She would like to build the program from the middle school level all the way up to varsity. She believes that while her job is to teach the girls how to play softball and win games, there is much more to her calling than that. To Coach Piercey, softball is her mission field and she would like to use that field as a way of spreading her faith – to her players, their families, fans, and opposing teams alike.
“I want to make sure all of my girls on the team treat their opponents with respect and class,” Piercey said. Spreading the Gospel is important to me. If we get outperformed, we will not get outclassed and the other team will notice that there is something different about us, that we have a light that shines brightly.”
It’s always difficult to discuss what the future may hold for a coach, particularly when that coach has yet to finish a full season. However, Coach Piercey loves the environment at Sherwood and she loves coaching high school-aged girls. And she doesn’t see herself coaching at another school any time soon.
“I plan to stay here as long as God intends on blessing me with this position. Bigger opportunities are always out there and I will follow what God wants me to do. If He sees fit for me to move on, then I will. But right now, I love this age and I feel like I’m growing just as much as my players are,” she said.
Paula Piercey wants to win games. Every coach does. But she also knows that playing sports is about more than winning games. It’s about teaching hard work, setting goals and working towards those goals, never giving up, and respecting yourself and others. And that is what she wants to leave with the girls who come through the Sherwood program.
“My philosophy is making sure that I keep the players’ spirits high enough so that they can lift up someone else, too. I want my girls to know that I love them, their teammates love them, and God loves them. Yes, competition comes in there too, because we do want to be competitive. But I also want them to learn what God is teaching me as a Christian. Then we’ll learn the fundamentals and the game of softball,” she said.
Coach’s Corner/September 2014
Paula Piercey
Sherwood Christian Academy
Albany, Georgia
Robert Preston, Jr.
