By Bailey Farmer | When a coach takes over a program, it can take some work to get on the right path. But new head softball coach Kailey Anderson is dedicated to reviving the Howard Payne softball team.
Originally from Mesquite, located 15 minutes outside of Dallas, Anderson attended Mesquite High School where she played softball all four years. After high school Anderson moved on to play Division I softball at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA.
During Anderson’s freshman year of high school, she began giving softball lessons to girls in her community and that’s when she realized she wanted to pursue a career in coaching.
“I started coaching with teams just as a volunteer and I absolutely fell in love with it and decided this is exactly what I need to be doing,” said Anderson.
Before receiving the coaching position at HPU, Anderson previously helped coach a fall ball team at a high school. The head coach of the high school team contacted Anderson saying there was a crazy coaching opportunity and asked if she would be interested. The only problem was she had already taken a head coaching position at a local private high school. Anderson decided to come on a visit to HPU and instantly made the decision to take the position.
When asked what she is most excited about for this upcoming softball season as well as future seasons, turning the program around is on the top of that list.
“I’ve got some ballers and I have kids that are ready to take spots. We are predicted to be at the bottom of the conference list and I’m ready to change that around and let people know this is a whole new program,” said Anderson
HPU softball will have a full season, so be sure to come out to Lady Jackets Park and cheer them on.