Lebanon’s Adams Is All-Bristol Herald Courier Softball Coach Of The Year

The Lebanon Pioneers made history this spring. It was only fitting that a pioneer for high school softball in Southwest Virginia was calling the shots.

Veteran head coach Shelia Adams guided Lebanon to the first state softball tournament appearance in school history and has been selected as the Bristol Herald Courier’s coach of the year.

For nearly two decades Adams has been coaching – and winning – games on the diamond. She first found success at Honaker, where she guided the Tigers to the 1988 Virginia High School League Group A state title.

“I started coaching in 1986 at Honaker and I had a coaches’ dream that year,” Adams said. “We went to the state finals my first year and lost to Wilson Memorial. That same group of girls came
back in 1988 and won it.”

The sport of softball was a relatively new concept to area schools back in the mid-1980s. But coaches like Adams, Castlewood’s John Sabo and Council’s Randy Martin helped build their teams into powerhouses and interest in the sport eventually grew.

Today, it’s one of the most competitive sports in Southwest Virginia.

“It’s changed and it hasn’t changed,” Adams said of the sport. “A lot of things have actually stayed the same.”

Such as Adams’ success rate.

She departed Honaker in 1991 and took a job at Lebanon. She started the Pioneers’ softball program in 1995 and success soon followed.

Her teams were always competitive in the Highlands and Hogoheegee Districts under her watch. But things finally came together this season as Lebanon put together its deepest foray into the postseason.

The Pioneers won the Clinch Mountain District tournament and finished as Region D runner-up. With mainstays like Jessica Tate, Allie Smith and Rachel Cook in the lineup, Lebanon was one of the area’s most balanced teams.

“We started off a little slow and the weather pushed us inside for about two weeks,” Adams said. “The girls got a lot more confident and it was just an awesome season. The girls did real well and just had fun with each other.”

The season ended with a disappointing 4-3 loss to Glenvar in the quarterfinals of the state tournament. But in Adams’ eyes that loss didn’t overshadow her team’s record-setting run.

She also plans to continue her labor of love well into the future.

“It keeps you active. It keeps you young,” Adams said. “The [star pitcher] I had at Honaker, Lynette Fuller, her daughter is actually in the eighth grade. I told somebody I started with Lynette, and I might end it [coaching] her daughter.”