By Concepcion Ledezma Riverbend News
Corinth Christian Academy (CCA) softball head coach Anson Creech frequently expresses that he reminds himself he is married to his assistant coach, BJ Creech. Add to the mix, the couple happens to have a daughter, Conner, on the team.
"Sometimes, we have to remember that we're married,'' Anson said, ”because we do get heated with each other in the dugout with different decisions. The bottom line to remember is that it's still a game. We still have to go home to each other. Once the game is over, it's back to being husband and wife."
His Lady Warriors team was just coming off a 14-2 loss to Jacksonville Old Plank at the Jasper Recreation Center. Any quarrel that may have surfaced failed to put a dent in the 21-year marital bliss. They were all exchanging pleasantries among themselves along with CCA parents once the loss wore off.
Even though the couple and Conner, wore smiles as they left the premises of the park, it should not be mistaken for lacking competitive fire.
"We agree to disagree," said wife BJ, which stands for Billie Jewell. She is also the athletic director for CCA, as well as a school board member.
The parents/coaches bring first-hand athletic experience to the CCA program. Anson was a two-way lineman for the Hamilton County High School football team from 1993-1995. BJ, a former Echols County High School softball standout, went on to play one softball season at Macon College. She recently earned a master's degree in occupational therapy from Keiser University.
The Lady Warriors have benefitted from their nine years of guidance from the Creeches. CCA won back-to-back SCC (Southeastern Christian Conference) championships, competing with other small south Georgia and north Florida schools. The Warriors enjoyed a 25-4 run during the two seasons they won the conference titles in 2018 and 2019.
The husband-wife team works as a well-oiled machine, each drawing from the other's strengths. Among her contributions is having the point-of-view of a former high school and college player.
"[She's] another set of eyes,'' he said. "She sees things that I don't. She helps me make decisions based on stuff that I don't see."
Despite not having played baseball as a high schooler, Anson has turned himself into an exceptional student of the game.
"When fast pitch softball came along, this was a new gig for the both of us," said BJ, who added that her experience in the sport was as a slow-pitch player. "He learned the workouts, started learning the game. Our oldest daughter [Anslie] started to get interested in playing travel ball. Then, he and I started learning all the rules.
"He really put in the time to really learn everything, to make sure he's giving the girls good information."
Anslie, who is scheduled to earn a B.A. in biology at UF in May, was instrumental in the Warriors' championship run as the team's starting shortstop during her senior year in 2018.
The Creeches also have a son, Anson, Jr. (AJ), a fourth-grader at CCA.
The middle sibling Conner has also proven to be an exceptional player. Through Tuesday, April 20, she's the team's second-leading hitter with a .476 average, and has knocked in seven runs in seven games. She also has a .671 on-base percentage. She's also exceptional at first base and can also play catcher.
Unlike her sister, however, Conner is on a 3-5 team that is young and rebuilding. In some cases, they are novice to the game itself.
As a team leader, her father/coach simply wants her to prod along and set the example for her younger teammates.
"As her coach, I just tell her to do what she knows," Anson said. "She knows how to hit. She knows how to play the game.
"It's not just her. I don't care if it's 100 to nothing. They don't quit. They play like it's zero to zero.”
Conner, nonetheless, says she's enjoying the time with her parents as coaches.
"It's a lot of pressure," Conner said, adding without hesitation that her parents are the best coaches she's had, "by far."
"There's a lot involved at home [talking about the games], but I really enjoy it a lot. I like being one of the leaders on the team."
Conner added that she doesn't mind following in her sister's footsteps following the championship run.
"I do enjoy doing that and trying to live up to it," Conner said.
BJ also believes that part of parenting a talented athlete like her daughter is also knowing how to conduct herself outside the athletic field.
"We've always taught her to be humble," the mother said. "In fact, we just had this conversation this morning about being humble off the field and in front of others. . . God has given her a gift and she's using it to the best of her ability. That means being a good player, a good student, to help others [as a leader]."
Even the opponents are aware of her prowess at bat. In the Warriors most recent victory on Thursday, April 15, an 8-1 decision over Valdosta Open Bible Christian, Conner was walked intentionally twice after getting a hit in her first plate appearance.
Her teammates Annie Kate Smith and Lacy Hermanson both went three for four to pick up the slack and Gracie Herndon went two for four.