By JON WEBB
GLASGOW — Glasgow High School announced former player, assistant coach and current teacher Becky Kingrey as its new softball coach during a press conference Friday afternoon.
“My number one endeavor is to get the best person for the position,” GHS Principal Kelly Bell said. “And I think God opened up heaven here.”
Kingrey served as a softball assistant coach upon beginning her teaching career at Glasgow, but gave it up to focus on raising her family.
“”When (my husband and I) started a family, I put my love of softball on the shelf,” Kingrey said. “To me, family is my first priority.”
Kingrey was actually pregnant with her first son James during part of her tenure as an assistant, and she said the clash of family and sport sometimes created a distraction for her players.
“All the girls would tell me to hold a clipboard in front of my stomach when they were hitting,” she said.
Kingrey played for Glasgow's inaugural softball team as a junior in 1986, and helped oversee the school's transition from slow pitch to fast pitch while serving as an assistant coach.
According to Kingrey, her position as a freshman teacher will “definitely ease the transition” from teacher to coach, as she's taught every older-than-freshman team member.
Although she's had past opportunities to pursue the softball coaching job, she said the current group of players – coupled with the fact her kids are now grown – made now the perfect time to nab the position.
“Looking out over the field (at a ballgame), you know, all the kids are honor students and none of them get in trouble,” Kingrey said. “(I realized) it was a golden opportunity.”
Kingrey may also be the beneficiary of a new Glasgow softball field.
During her introductory remarks at the conference, Bell said a new field is the “next big project” after completion of the track.
She said the land alloted for the field measured out perfectly for a new diamond.
For now, however, Kingrey is focused on building relationships with her players and preparing for the spring season.
“Now the hard part starts” she said.
