Former Lady Hounds softball coach Lyons remembered for impact on and off field
Blake Lyons, who led the Lady Greyhounds to a fast-pitch softball state championship in 2010, died last week following a courageous battle with colon cancer.
During his 32-year coaching career, Lyons coached his softball teams to more than 500 wins, capturing a state title in 1999 at Eagles Landing before doing likewise in Jones County.
With such a remarkable record of coaching, many things can stand out. But there’s something else that resonated more, according to former JCHS athletic director Barry Veal.
“What a great friend he was, that’s probably the number one thing. We started off coaching against each other. Everyone remembers him as a great softball coach, but he was also a great baseball coach,” Veal said. “We had some really knockdown, drag-outs when he was at Eagles Landing. He had some great teams, and he was every bit as good as a baseball coach as he was a softball coach.
Current Greyhounds head softball coach Tripp Burt said that a constant philosophy of Lyons was to “leave things better than you found them.”
Needless to say, Lyons did that at JCHS through not just a state title but also with the Lady Hounds being a regular state title contender.
“He was a great mentor, great friend, pretty much family. It’s a big loss, and he’ll be greatly missed,” Burt said. “He’s been a huge influence. We coached together from 2011 to 2019; he was my mentor. If I ever had questions, I could call him. He won more than 500 games and state champ at multiple schools. He was a great asset and great friend.”
Veal also recalls the friendship with Lyons off the field, as well as he and others – including former Jones County Schools Superintendent Charles Gibson and JCHS principal and long-time supporter John Trimnell – would often travel to sporting events together.
“Me, him, Mr. Gibson and Mr. Trimnell went to so many games together, watching other sports play. I played lots of golf with him; he was just a great friend. When we finally got him down to Jones County, we knew what kind of coach we were getting and it paid off.”
If there was any question about how much Lyons meant to JCHS and the surrounding community, proof was shown last December when, despite Lyons living in Tennessee, more than $13,000 was raised on his behalf during a benefit softball tournament.
“It means everything,” Lyons told The Jones County News last December. “It’s like I’ve been telling people (Saturday), it’s overwhelming. Our heart is full. There is no other place or community that I know of that could or would do something like this. It’s amazing.”
