Haley Vick has a clear vision for Gilmer High softball.
She has been working with players and establishing the team’s culture since she was tabbed to be the program’s next head coach in April.
Vick, 39, grew up in Tift County where she played and developed a love for the game. She continued her softball playing career at Presbyterian College (S.C.). Vick has lived in Ellijay and been married for nine years and has three daughters.
She will take over for Eric Tedders, who led the program to a 13-37 record over the previous two seasons.
“I told them when I interviewed, this isn’t a stepping stone for me. This is where my family is and where I want to stay,” Vick said. “I want to be able to build a program and retire here. I’ve loved the game and played it since I was 4 years old.
“I want Gilmer to be a competitive team inside and outside of the region. I want to establish a classy program that people have a healthy respect for as far as how we present ourselves and respond to things.”
Vick has been coaching locally in some facet over the past nine years and noted what appeals to her about the profession.
“I love the relationships with the girls and the parents. When we moved here, I wanted to be ingrained in a community and give back to the sport that gave so much to me, so I started getting involved in the rec department and ran some clinics,” she said.
“I love these kids who are coming up, and I love to see development. I’m a very fundamental coach. That’s what excites me is to see progress and kids coming out to play and working hard and still having fun with it.”
After being a GHS softball assistant for the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Vick took a year off in 2021. She was back in the dugout as an assistant under Tedders last year and applied for the position when it opened.
In her first two seasons, Vick was a community coach. However, she joined the system at the beginning of the 2022-2023 academic year as a paraprofessional in the special education department at GHS.
“I owned a business for about six years, but my true passion is coaching,” Vick said. “The business allowed me to be a foster parent and take care of the things I needed to be there for. Now that we’ve adopted, I wanted to get back to what I really love to do.”
Vick shared her thoughts on the program and what she envisions as head coach.
“My main goal is to establish a program with more of a family feel. I want to bring the fun back to the game,” she said. “I want the players to feel connected, and I want them to enjoy it winning or losing. I want to build a program, and I think we have some great kids in the program now and some young kids who are coming up.”
Vick has been able to meet with the Lady Cats on the practice field per GHSA offseason guidelines. She said they spent about six weeks doing 4x1 sessions, which allowed four players on the field per coach. They held tryouts as well, no players were cut and there are 20 players in the program.
“I’ve only had a week with everyone in the program together,” Vick said. “The feel has been good, and I think the girls are having fun. We’re working hard, and 90 percent of the time they’re breathing hard. They’re still laughing and getting along, and the amount of people who have shown up and made it a priority is a big deal.”
Vick said there are plans for a junior varsity team, which has not been the case in recent seasons. Coupled with some region opponents who do not field JV squads, the growth of younger players has been stifled.
“I’ve had a couple region teams text me already and say they won’t have a team, but I think there are more JV teams than there used to be,” Vick said. “When you get into some of these smaller schools, it gets harder to have a JV program. It’s so important, and it’s hard when you don’t have a JV team for these incoming freshmen to transfer into because it’s a huge jump from middle school to varsity.”
GHS will return to the field for preseason practices in June. The Cats will practice for two hours, four days per week. They will replicate that schedule in July ahead of the first game in August.
“We’re going to work hard this summer,” Vick said. “We’re really going to focus on fundamentals. I’ve always been a defensive coach, and we have to back our pitchers up. We’ll work on some offensive fundamentals, too. Everyone in the lineup has to be able to bunt. So if we can’t hit the ball, we need to find a way to manufacture runs. If we can keep the score down, it’ll be a lot easier to come out on top.”
Karli Loudermilk returns to be an assistant coach. Joining the staff will be fellow GHS alum Emily Dale, who will work with pitchers.