The Lady Dukes Make It A Family Affair… With A Distinct Blue Devil Hue

It’s not a shocker that the Lady Dukes, a first-year 14U club team out of Durham, North Carolina, has a distinct blue hue to the team’s colors.

The head coach is James Lamar, whose wife is Duke Head Coach Marissa Young. Her father, Robert Young—a well-respected, long-time club coach with the Firecracker organization in California— is an assistant on both college and club teams.

It comes as no surprise, then, that four of the players on the team—all 2022’s—have committed to Duke: catcher Anna Sawyer; shortstop Nadia Sykes, catcher/corner infielder Jessie Denardo and pitcher/infielder Summer Bullard.

And according to sources close to the team, a fifth 8th grader could commit soon—which would tie Florida State with the most players known from one class on one club team (in the Seminole’s case, it’s five 2021’s from the Tampa Mustangs – Walford team)

Comprised of almost all 2022 grads with one standout each from the 2023 and 2024 classes (more on them later), the team went 54-10-2 last summer and 26-4-3 in the fall including a 5-0 mark at Scenic City and a 4-1 record at D9.

Lamar himself played football and baseball at Indiana University so there’s a lot of diamond experience in the family and with assistant coaches Charles Nash and Gary Nash as well.

And the head coach and his Duke-coaching wife have two outstanding daughters who play, Layla (12-years-old), who is the baby on the team being the sole 7th grader, and Jolyna (10, who many whisper could be the star of the much accomplished Lamar/Young families.

You have to imagine with all the softball coaches and players in the family, it can make for some interesting dinner conversations.

“Actually,” laughs Coach Lamar, “whoever loses that day doesn’t get to say much at dinner so hopefully we have some conversations going on!”

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