How former Lady Vols pitcher Ellen Renfroe Reed made Lakeway Christian softball a winning program

Emily Adams
Knoxville News Sentinel

Lakeway Christian softball finished its first season in 2019 with zero wins. Three years later, the Lions are 18-4 and one of the top teams in Division II-A under the leadership of former Tennessee Lady Vols pitcher Ellen Renfroe Reed.

Reed played at UT from 2011-14 and was a two-time All-American, helping the Lady Vols to a runner-up finish in the 2013 Women's College World Series. The former standout at Trinity Christian Academy in Jackson, Tennessee,  brought the culture of success that she learned with the Lady Vols to the Lakeway program. 

"My head coaches were so about pursuing excellence in everything that you do, and that has been really impactful for my life beyond my college years," said Reed, who was one of three sisters to play for the Lady Vols, joining Ivy (2010-13) and Anna (2013-14). "In my career, what they taught me at UT about just pursuing your best I found to be so important as a coach. I teach these young girls to do the same."

For junior Katie Whitaker, one of the team's top hitters, Reed's reputation drew her to enroll at Lakeway Christian Academy when it opened in 2018. She is one of just two players on the roster who have been with the program since the very beginning.

Lakeway Christian Head Coach Ellen Reed speaks with Zayle Elkins (18) during a softball game in Powell, Tenn. on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.

"She's very stern. She means what she says," Whitaker said. "We all respect and do what she says because we know she like wouldn't say it if it wasn't going to help us."

After its first season, Reed said she was unsure about the direction of the program, and COVID-19 delayed its progress another year when the 2020 season was canceled. She entered the 2021 season with just four returning players and the Lions finished 19-10. This season, she said the potential is even greater.

"I think that's probably been our biggest area of growth is maturity, experience, and just confidence," Reed said. "Last year was the first high school season for like all of our kids, which is crazy. A lot of our girls are not taught softball IQ, like the details of the game. They've been really great about learning that stuff and just being coachable."

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That potential was on full display in Lakeway's 17-0 win over First Baptist Academy on Tuesday, less than a week after the Lions beat the Eagles just 2-1. Reed said the Lions struggled to adjust against pitcher Riley Sikes, a Carson-Newman signee, and after emphasizing in-game adjustment during practice, Reed said it was satisfying to see her players execute the improvements.

"It's always fun as a coach when you see the work that they put in be fruitful," said Reed. "I wasn't surprised because I knew I knew we could do it, but I'm excited and proud. They got to see what us as coaches think they can do." 

Lakeway Christian's Kinsey Moore (23) celebrates a home run hit during a softball game in Powell, Tenn. on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.

Lakeway Christian is Reed's first job coaching at the high school level after previous stops as an assistant at Memphis for two years, one season as coach at Bethel and one year as as assistant at Louisiana-Lafayette. She said the biggest learning experience for her has been building a staff that shares her passion and coaching style. 

"It's so important having people around you that are trying to do the same things in life, but also how they invest in our girls," said Reed. "For our young girls, relationships are important, and we as coaches try to do a good job of letting them know that they're more than just softball players."

Freshman Myla Russell said assistant Jeff Lowery in particular has redefined the team's mental game, leading the players  in weekly meetings to improve their mindsets during games.

"We've been putting a lot more time into it. Every Friday morning, we have meetings at 7:15 where we talk about how our mental game can be strengthened and how we look at ourselves in different scenarios," Russell said. "Every day before practice we have our mental minute where we sit and visualize ourselves in different situations and the outcome."

Contact Emily Adams at eaadams@gannett.com or on Twitter @eaadams6.