“I love each and every one of them.”

Whenever any group of seniors graduates, they move on having left an indelible mark on the program that they have been a part of. Sure, left behind are memories of the thrill of victories, agony of defeats and all the other moments in between.

But in the case of the outgoing senior class for both the Lady Greyhounds softball and soccer teams, the impact has meant so much more than that to Lady Greyhounds softball assistant coach and soccer head coach Mikayla Greene.

“We have kind of grown up together. Not just as a coach and players, but as people. They’re my family and I love each and every one of them,” Greene said. “This group of seniors have been with me through the worst things that have ever happened to me.”

That group includes seniors who graduated this week with soccer players being Emily Brennaman, Cheyenne Davis, Madison Gordon, Megan Hamilton, Reagan Hicks, Kyleigh McMahon, Maeleigh Price, Erica Rowland and Taylor Trefelner. Hamilton, Price, Rowland and Trefelner are also part this past week’s graduates from the softball program that also includes Destin Howard, Kayla Bonner, Kate Cole, Brianna Edmonson and Sierra Hursey.

And like any family, that close-knit connection was there during a time of great need for Greene. When the current senior class arrived at JCHS as freshmen, Greene’s late husband, Travis Greene, had been diagnosed with stage 2 brain cancer.

“He was still himself and going through treatment, and he absolutely loved supporting our sports teams here and the kids who played for me,” Greene recalls. “He was diagnosed with Grade 4 brain cancer (the following) January, just before their freshman soccer season started up.”

That freshman year came in the midst of a learning experience on both sides. They were Greene’s first class of soccer players. While they were adjusting to playing soccer on the high school level, Greene was taking on the role of being a soccer head coach, a new path for herself as well.

“They started their high school careers with a young coach who knew almost nothing about soccer. They were patient, and we all learned together. They taught me things about soccer, and I taught them discipline. I knew no matter how good of soccer players they were, it’s very hard to be successful without discipline,” Greene said. “Both the girls and their families have always been overly kind and patient with me and everything going on in my personal life. I missed practices and even a game or two being out with my late husband, and they never missed a beat while I was gone. They kept the program running even when I wasn’t there.”

That spring, Greene had some exciting news for her players, and it had nothing to do with wins or losses. It was that she and Travis were expecting a child.

“These seniors were amongst the most excited for me when I told them that I was pregnant in spring of 2020. They were sophomores then and on top of the world,” Greene said. “We had an amazing team with some really great players, and I was pregnant, and life was great.”

A promising team with a head coach expecting a child. On the surface, the future could not have been more exciting. But of course, this was also the spring of 2020, when COVID-19 turned things upside down for the Lady Greyhounds, abruptly ending the 2020 spring sports season. Any hopes of a postseason and beyond that year were ended for all teams, as the sports world locally, nationally and internationally was gripped with not knowing when play would resume again.

“While the rest of the world shut down, they were constantly texting for workouts and drills that they could do to get better while we were shut down for COVID,” Greene said. “I’m sure part of that was boredom, but the other part was work ethic. This group has a ton of heart and work ethic.”

In the midst of COVID-19, Travis Greene’s health declined.

“I don’t know who was more devastated about not getting to see each other, me or them. They always wanted updated pictures of my baby bump and to get updates on Travis’ treatment,” Greene said. “Personally, when the world shut down, it was a blessing in disguise, which I would soon find out. Travis’ health declined faster than I ever imagined, but because the world was shut down, I got to spend a lot more time with him than I typically do when it’s soccer season. Then August rolled around.”

In a span of four days, two polar opposites of joy and sorrow arrived for Greene. The birth of a child and death of her husband.

That came as the Greyhounds softball season was starting. With COVID-19 looming, new head coach Tripp Burt and assistant coach Tyler Clifford were at the helm with the start to the season being marked by precautions in place at events such as masks being worn and hand sanitizer being highly available and visible.

While the plan for Greene was to move back into her role as soccer head coach the next spring, whether or not Greene would be back on campus in the fall of 2020 was hardly a certainty. It didn’t take long for a reminder of how much the Lady Hounds meant to Greene, who at the time was on maternity leave. “I went through two of the

“I went through two of the biggest changes that anyone goes through in life within four days of one another; having my baby and losing my husband. I’ll be honest, there was a time that I wasn’t sure when or if I was going to come back to school in the fall of 2020. My daughter was a week or so old, my husband had gone to be with the Lord a few days before and I was a disaster,” Greene recalls. “I needed to get out of my house, and there was a softball game that day. I knew exactly what I needed; to see my “kids” so we went to my other home, the high school. They were so excited to see me – really Avery, my daughter – but I’m going to say they were excited to see me. After that game, I knew I wanted to be back at work and around my normalcy, which has a ton to do with the group of seniors that are graduating this year. They’re my family and will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Around the latter part of the regular season and start of the postseason, Greene rejoined the team as an assistant coach. The Lady Greyhounds rolled all the way to the Elite 8 in Columbus, where they won the school’s first state title since 2010.

“She was just really positive. Seeing how strong she was kind of helped us move along in the season,” Lady Greyhounds pitcher Destin Howard said. “I honestly think she helped us win in state. If we didn’t have her, a lot of things that happened for us wouldn’t have happened.”

From Greene’s standpoint, the championship season was the result of something simple – hard work paying off.

“It’s always an amazing thing to see hard work pay off and good things happening to good people. That’s how I feel about the coaches that I get to work with, the players and all their families,” Greene said. “We’re all here for each other and the kids, and it’s such a blessing to get to witness so much success for some the people that you love the most. It was one of the happiest days of my life, and I will never forget that feeling.”

Added Burt: “It was definitely a reinvigoration. She had been through tough time in her life and has a lot of heart and spirit. I feel like that transferred over to our girls and it gave us a big boost. The passion and fire she brings, she brings that out of our players.”

But the coaching didn’t end with the celebration on that late October afternoon in Columbus. Next up was the resumption of the soccer season for Jones County, and Greene wasn’t the only one from the softball side shifting gears. The junior class that year included four who played both sports – Price, Hamilton, Rowland and Trefelner.

“I absolutely love coaching both sports. I have always loved softball. I played my whole life, including the 2010 State Championship team. On the other hand, I never played soccer, in fact the first soccer game that I ever watched, I was an assistant coach,” Greene said. “I love it though. I love the challenge of learning a new sport. I enjoy coaching especially groups like this graduating senior class. They’re hard-working, determined, competitive and just want to represent their school and community well. That’s one thing that I stress with my teams is community.”

As for 2021 season? The Lady Hounds made history, winning a home playoff match for the first time in school history and advancing to the second round. Jones County returned to the playoffs again this year, a season with a bittersweet ending in a loss to McIntosh as the Lady Hounds bid farewell to a group that’s meant more than just wins and losses.

“Jones County is an amazing place. I know it isn’t perfect, nothing is but this community saved my life,” Greene said. “They supported my late husband and I though fundraisers, love and prayers. I make sure that my student-athletes know that and help show them how amazing this place really is.”