HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL: PH’s Counts Selected As Southwest Virginia Coach Of The Year

Patrick Henry High School softball coach Tami Counts led her team to a familiar showing this season — the top of the Hogoheegee District.

Her rise to the status of top coach has been equally as impressive.

When Counts was a student at Patrick Henry, the Washington County school did not even offer softball. She kept statistics and managed the school’s baseball team, played in some recreational softball leagues and picked up pointers from her father and older brother.
“A lot of my background really did come from my dad and my brother and just playing ball in the backyard,” Counts said. “When I started coaching, I would go to conferences, watch softball on TV and just pick up anything I could. I always try to pick up something new.”

Counts proved to be a quick learner.

After three years as an assistant at Northwood from 1995-97, Counts took over as the head coach at her alma mater in the spring of 1998. She led her team to the Hogoheegee District tournament title and a berth in the Region C tournament en route to earning district coach of the year honors that first year.

Since then, Counts has compiled a 179-55-2 record, won two Region C titles and made four appearances in the VHSL Group A state tournament. The 2000 edition of the Rebels finished as state runner-up.

Her teams are perennially among the most fundamentally sound and several of her former pupils have went on to play at the collegiate level.

“They work hard and any coach is only as good as her players,” Counts said. “It helps having great players that want to work. That helps tremendously.”

This season was no different as her team entered the season determined to return among the area’s elite teams. The Rebels rolled through the Hogoheegee District and came within a hit of beating Glenvar in the semifinals of the Region C tournament.

It was also good enough for Counts to earn Bristol Herald Courier Southwest Virginia coach of the year honors.

En route to compiling their 19-4-1 record, the Rebels did not drop a single game to a district opponent. That came after the 2006 and 2007 seasons were classified as rebuilding years.

“We’ve been working toward this for the past 2-3 years,” Counts said. “I knew I had two strong pitchers coming up and we won the JV championship last year. We’ve been working for a while. And it really helped that a lot of them played summer ball. They came in prepared.”

Counts should add more victories to her career win total the next few seasons. The Rebels return several young standouts — including pitcher Kelsey Weddle —  and should be even more formidable next spring.

“They are going to miss the seniors as much as I do,” Counts said. “I’ve coached those girls in basketball and softball since they were in eighth grade, so it will be hard to lose their leadership. But saying that, I’ve got some juniors and sophomores that are going to step up and take the lead also.”

PH also has a proven coach.
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