Inside Pitch: Lovie Haley On Playing For a College Coach… While in High School

Lovie Haley is an outstanding student-athlete with a 4.9 GPA as a junior at Matanzas High in Palm Coast, Florida.

The pitcher/utility player, who committed to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical this fall, is a dual enrollment student at Daytona State College and plays for the Gainesville Gold club organization. She’s been a USA Elite Select All-American and has been a varsity starter since her freshman year.

Lovie has also been an eight-time Florida softball state champion with various sanctions and off the field has done everything from work on her school’s Homecoming Court to serve as an editor for the popular Florida Fastpitch Forum site.

In today’s Inside Pitch, Lovie talks about how impactful it was when 12-year college coach Sabrina Manhart became her high school coach and three key lessons that her athletes have been taught…

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a college softball coach as your high school coach?  That is the situation I found myself in last year when my high school, Matanzas High in Palm Coast, Florida, won what I consider the softball jackpot!

That was when my high school hired Daytona State College head softball coach Sabrina Manhart to take over the softball program at my school.  Coach Manhart had been at the helm of the DSC Falcons program for over 12 years when she decided to come to Matanzas High School to become a coach for my Lady Pirates’ team.

It’s not just about softball on the field, though: Coach Manhart is all about building a culture at MHS that makes a positive statement in the Florida softball community.  She is tough and runs a tight ship, training our team vigorously on and off the field.

So what are the benefits of having an experienced college coach manage you when you’re in high school?

On and off the field, Coach Manhart has taught all of us three key things:

1. make sure we act in a first-class manner with everyone,
2. have an attitude of gratitude for all we’ve been blessed with,
3. understand how important it is to have our mind right and our body ready.

With her dozen years at the college level, Coach trains and conditions us as much or more than any other Gold level travel ball team that I have ever played for since 10U.

Another benefit: she knows how to balance hard work along with fun.  For example, I’ll always remember how special it was when Coach Manhart and her little daughter put on an Easter Egg hunt at one training day last spring.

We’ve also learned that extra work can end up being extra fun. We’ve learned that hard work does pay off and last year saw the benefits. For the first time in our school history, our varsity team was undefeated in district play and won the district championship.  We were county champions too.

Coach Manhart has helped us elevate not just our softball skills, but our confidence that we can compete against the best. Last spring our high school team accomplished another first as we played at the prestigious Kissimmee Klassic High School softball tournament in Central Florida showing high school and college coaches that our team is ready to play against the best softball players and teams in Florida.

On a personal level, Coach Manhart has been instrumental in helping me with all of my softball goals and advising me along my softball journey. She has also been a huge help in guiding me towards playing softball at the next level.

As a 2021 junior, I was fortunate to verbally commit this fall to coaches Kelsi Dunne and Bianka Bell (former SEC All-Americans and currently with the USSSA Pride national team) to play for them at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Our high school is blessed to have Coach Manhart and, for me, playing for a coach with college experience on a daily basis has helped elevate my game and readiness to play in elite events with my Gainesville Gold club team and eventually at the next level.

It can be hard playing for a college coach at the high school level because the standards and expectations are set high, but if you’re wanting to be the best and play against the best, I can imagine no better way.

The way I see it, Coach Manhart has helped me and my Lady Pirates softball program sail with strong winds towards bright and successful future!