“Perfecting the Practice” is Key to Braves’ Success
Heard County softball coach Matt Hornsby has been named the ITG Next 2021-22 Georgia Coach of the Year, presented by the Hughston Clinic. Hornsby led his Braves to the 2021 GHSA Fast Pitch Softball Class AA State Championship, held in Columbus in October. The Braves finished 26-10, including a perfect 4-0 record to finish the season in the Elite 8. They outscored their opponents 42-7 in those four wins.
This was the second consecutive state championship for Hornsby and the Lady Braves, and the third overall for Heard County. Their first state title came in 2014, Hornsby’s fifth season as head coach, and it was the school’s first state championship in any sport. (That title inspired the Heard County football team, who would capture the school’s second state championship four years later, in 2018.) This past season was Hornsby’s 12th overall as the school’s head softball coach, and his 13th year overall at Heard County.
Hornsby attended high school at nearby Central Carrolton High, where he played baseball. He joined the Heard County staff in 2009 on the advice of an assistant principal, then applied for and was hired as the Braves’ softball coach in 2010.
Hornsby admits that at first, he took the job as softball coach to get experience in hopes of being hired as a head baseball coach at some point. “I had always been a baseball guy, and my plan was to stay in the game of baseball,” Hornsby said.
But things changed as he recognized the athleticism and commitment of fast-pitch softball players.
“I fell in love with the game of softball immediately, and was so impressed with how much faster the girls seemed to progress and really wanted to learn, and as a coach that was very rewarding,” Hornsby explained.
That was important, because the Braves softball program did not have much of a winning history, with their only 20-plus win season coming in 2007. Hornsby said the first thing he did was begin scheduling tougher non-region opponents, so the team would be better prepared for the region portion of the schedule.
“We needed to see great pitching and great hitting, so we scheduled games against the larger classification teams,” he said.
He also changed the entire practice routine. “My approach was to get the team to get in the mindset of perfecting everything they did, starting with the little things like running to the foul pole and back; not a foot from the foul pole, but touch the foul pole and run all the way back,” he said.
“It was also with our infield practices, our outfield practice, and really trying to perfect our approach at the plate, which may mean taking more strikes. Learn to understand pitcher tendencies, and be more patient. We probably take more pitches than most teams, but we also put more balls in play. It’s about working toward perfecting everything you do. That’s been our approach, and over these past 10 years, the girls have bought in, and it seems to have worked well.”
Indeed it has. The team has won 20 or more games in every season except one, and along with the three state titles, has won seven region championships.
“People say practice makes perfect, but that’s not exactly true,” Hornsby said. “Players can practice all day, but unless you perfect what you are practicing, you’re not going to get any better.”
Good advice from our Coach of the Year, Matt Hornsby, Heard County head softball coach.
