Boyd County High School Announces New Head Softball Coach
Sasha Bush
The Ashland Beacon
The future of Boyd County High School’s softball program is looking bright. Last week Boyd County native, Lance Tyler Seasor was named Boyd County High School’s new head softball coach. Seasor a former Lion himself, graduated from Boyd County High School in 2001. During his high school years, Seasor played on Boyd County’s varsity baseball team from 1998-2001. During that time, Seasor helped his team bring home the 16th Region Title four years in a row, making it to the final four three of those four years, and brought home a Ky State Championship title in 2001.
Seasor grew up as most young boys did… playing a variety of sports throughout his childhood. However, the one sport that remained a constant in Seasor’s life was of course baseball. “I played baseball from age six through age 23,” Seasor noted. After high school, Seasor attended Morehead State University where he pursued and obtained a bachelor’s degree in criminology. Of course, baseball was also a huge part of Seasor college years. “I played baseball at Morehead State University from 2002-2005 and was selected as the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2005,” shared Seasor.
With such an extensive history on the ballfield, it was no surprise that Seasor would continue to live on the ball field even after college. After college, Seasor met the love his life, got married, and started a family. Today, Seasor and his wife Brooke have three children, Tylar- age 11, Tate- age 9, and Torynn- age 5. Shortly after the birth of his children, Seasor began coaching Boyd County’s Baseball Summer Team from 2009-2012, and that is when it all clicked. Seasor declared, “I fell in love with coaching, and that’s when I realized that this was something that I really wanted to pursue.”
How did this legendary former baseball player go from coaching baseball to coaching softball? As his children got older and began to get involved in sports, they quickly fell in love with the game of softball. “I began coaching my daughter’s softball team when she first started playing and discovered that I really loved the game,” said Seasor. With baseball and softball sharing so many similarities, making the switch to softball came easy to this well-rounded baller.
“Baseball and softball are obviously very similar so of course the years spent playing baseball have proven to be very beneficial to me as a softball coach. The thing that sets softball apart from baseball is the pace. Softball is much faster paced and very aggressive. You can’t be a passive player in this sport and expect to be successful.” stated Seasor.
No matter the sport, Seasor feels that coaching is so much more than just what is seen on the surface. “To me, coaching is more than X’s and O’s. Coaching is about helping these young players develop so that they can succeed in life. It’s more than just what’s taught on the field… it’s about life and learning lessons that can be used on and off field. I hope to be able to do that with every team… every child that I have coached.”
With over 14 years of coaching under his belt, Seasor has certainly been able to do just that. Seasor has spent the last few years coaching his daughters travel softball team and serving as head softball coach for Boyd County Middle School’s softball program. During this time, Seasor has had the pleasure of coaching and helping to cultivate the skills of the most prolific group of talent that Boyd County Softball has ever seen.
“I feel that on the field most coaches are very similar in what they do with strategies and such; however, I think what separates good coaches from great coaches is the off the field preparation of your team. Our team will not lose because we were not prepared. The single most important thing that a coach can do for their team is to make sure that they are prepared for whatever is thrown at them. But most importantly, instill a sense of confidence in their players, so they will believe in themselves and their team when faced with adversity. You have to make sure your players know they have to work hard to get the results they want.” Seasor went on to add, “You get out of things what you put into them. If you work hard and apply yourself, good things will happen. You can’t expect to give a poor effort and get great results. Life and sports do not work that way. You can only control two things in life and that is your attitude and your effort.”
There are many essential components to great leadership, which Seasor clearly possesses such as clear vision, communication, trust and respect. Seasor understands the importance of putting in the hard work, working through the obstacles and roadblocks, and how to bring out the best in his players both on and off the field. Seasor is a coach who is well seasoned and understands that in life as it is in softball or any game for that matter, that we will encounter hardships. “Hard losses are tough. However, it is my job to find the positives and teaching moments from these losses and explain them to my team, so that they can not only learn from them but take what they have learned and improve going forward.”
Brooke Seasor, Seasor’s wife, couldn’t have said it better, “I think what sets my husband apart from the other great coaches in the region, aside from the talent that he is inheriting at Boyd County, is his desire to do what it takes to win and encourage these girls to meet him at the level necessary for success. He is competitive but caring. The girls he has coached know that he respects them and in return they respect him. A coach is a leader and must want the success of his team just as much as his players, and that’s what Lance is all about.”
Seasor shared that his favorite thing about being a coach “will always be the kids. My biggest reward will not come on the field. The biggest reward that I or any coach can get is being able to see my players grow into adults and become successful. Sports will only last you for so long; however, the lessons that you can learn and takeaway from playing sports are lessons that will benefit these players for a lifetime.” Hard work, commitment, determination, and working well with others are some of the most obvious lessons learned from playing sports and some of the most important lessons that will carry you through a life of success if put into practice. Seasor’s plans for the future of Boyd County High School Softball are simple: “I plan on our team bringing home a region title to our program. I plan on creating a culture where winning isn’t hoped for… its expected!”
