Shaylen Bailey has been coaching softball for kids ever since she was in school.

She was hired at the end of May as the new softball head coach at Van-Far to replace Kelly Borchert, who stepped down to focus on teaching in the district. The Clopton graduate Bailey enters her first high school head coaching job after experience coaching Little League and junior high softball as well some years coaching junior high girls basketball.

Bailey has completed years of coaching during her adult life but was able to instill knowledge as early as her schooling life. She said her first exposure to coaching was while she was still playing the game in high school when she offered pitching and catching lessons to younger kids. Then, she said parents approached her after her college freshmen year about coaching Little League, which she has done for about 7-8 years.

“It helped me find my passion for coaching, that first year (coaching Little League),” Bailey said. “Coaching has been my thing for as long as I can remember. I love softball.”

Bailey said she spent two years as the head junior high softball coach at her alma mater and is coming from being an assistant junior high girls basketball coach for Mark Twain. She said she stepped away from Mark Twain after a year because of her son.

Finding the right environment for kids, whether they belong to her or others, was a big reason why Bailey came to the Van-Far community. Bailey grew up in a small community and enjoyed it so she wanted the same for her children. 

“It was kind of like, ‘I can do it right now because he’s a little baby’ and then last year, I was like, ‘He’s going to be running all over the place,’ which he does out here, but he has more space to run,” Bailey said. “I currently live in Curryville so this is a lot closer for me, and this will be the community that my son grows up in. This would be a good place to put down roots.”

Family has been part of Bailey’s coaching career as well as she said her cousin was one the first people she coached. Her cousin wanted to be a pitcher so Bailey offered pitching and catching lessons, which gradually involved more people that became interested. Bailey eventually coached her sister on her Little League team in the Clarksville and Eolia area, where Bailey’s family has lived for a long time.

Now that Bailey will be coaching the high school girls at Van-Far, she wants to see the same from them that she enjoys most about coaching kids.

“The biggest thing that I love about coaching is watching the growth that students or kids have throughout the entirety of a season,” Bailey said. “I also want to help them see their own potential and fully fulfill that. To see how proud they get when they accomplish a task that they might not have been able to do originally is phenomenal.”

The Lady Indians are coming off a 5-16 season, which was the third straight year Van-Far softball has finished with a losing record. They need to grow when it comes to team results but also individually as Bailey said there will be about 7-8 freshmen that will mix with the smaller upperclassmen class on the Lady Indians this year. 

Bailey has had several glimpses at these girls’ potential this summer as Van-Far has run multiple practices and has even played other schools in one scrimmage camp in Centralia. She said the Lady Indians plan to run a three-day camp in July to work on their skills.

“The biggest thing, especially the older players, that they need right now is encouragement,” Bailey said. “When you come off rough years, it is hard to really get that gumption to keep going and keep wanting to win. My philosophy is I like to be positive and encourage them. If they mess up, let them know, ‘Hey, this is what you need to do to fix it’ but just let them stay encouraged and let them help and learn from each other as well.”

Bailey said the mostly underclassmen she had play at Centralia — because of upperclassmen being unavailable due to FFA responsibilities — displayed good communication and promising skills. She and her assistant coach — and first-year coach — Caroline James look forward to working with them.

“A lot of them have great abilities, but we just need to fine-tune some of the things that they struggle with,” Bailey said. “I think that will come with time. All of them that I’ve dealt with have been very coachable and listen very well so I think they’ll definitely develop those skills that they’re lacking right now.”

The returning players have also stuck out to Bailey. She said Dalana Gay is a “phenomenal pitcher” that expects to be the team’s strongest option in the circle, Kayla Heaton has “so much athleticism” that is fun to watch at shortstop, and alternating catchers Reeve Woodall and Carmen Wilburn have been “really good leaders on and off the field.”

Even when the Lady Indians lose, Bailey said they can still learn from it and be better the next time out. 

“I think we’re going to help these girls grow and become the best softball players that they’re destined to be,” Bailey said.