ALL-AREA SOFTBALL 2009: Perdue named Coach of the Year
Cliff Williams | Opelika-Auburn News
Glenwood’s Dusty Perdue was named Coach of the Year after leading the Gators to the AISA championship.
When he learned he had been named AISA softball Coach of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association on June 5, Dusty Perdue kept it under his hat.
He was in Georgia for the weekend for a ceremony honoring his mother, Debbie Ball, who was awarded a lifetime achievement award after coaching for 33 years at Brookstone and becoming the winningest softball coach in state high school history.
“That was my mom’s weekend, and I did not want to damper that at all,” Perdue said. “She’s won more games than I’ll ever think about winning.”
When the weekend was over and he was on the way out the door, he let it slip.
“She could not believe that I waited to tell her,” Perdue said. “She was really upset with me.”
Perdue can also add the Opelika-Auburn News’ softball Coach of the Year to his list of accomplishments, after his Gators polished off a 36-8 season with the first fast-pitch title in school history.
Perdue took over the team before last season, a team that hadn’t enjoyed much success since the turn of the century.
Glenwood finished third in the state in Perdue’s first year.
“We had everybody in place that we needed in place,” Perdue said. “The only thing was we were still young. And we didn’t really know how to win. This is not any miraculous change that I’ve done. It’s just getting them to believe that they could win.”
The Gators certainly had the talent.
Ollivia McLemore and Victoria Smith combined to go 33-8 with a 1.02 ERA in the circle. Shortstop Bree Nowlin and catcher Leslie Kelly both hit above .400, and McLemore, third baseman Britt Wilkerson, outfielder Kelsey Wilks and second baseman Stephanie Woodruff all eclipsed the .300 mark.
And all but Wilkerson will be back next year.
“The goal for us next year will be not getting a big head, and not thinking that everybody’s going to lay down for Glenwood,” Perdue said.
“The pressure’s going to be on me next year, because everybody says you’re supposed to repeat. We’ll see what kind of coaching I do next year.”
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