When head coach Clint Myers was recruited to coach the Auburn softball team from Arizona Sate, Auburn agreed to make the switch a family affair, additionally bringing in his sons Corey and Casey Myers to help.
Corey currently serves as an assistant coach and oversees the pitching staff, while Casey is the volunteer assistant coach to his father.
During his time coaching the pitching program, Corey led the Auburn pitchers to 42 wins in 2014, the highest since 2005.
Corey said the family aspect of softball has been around since Casey and him were growing up.
“My only coaching has always been with the family,” Corey said. “Growing up, (Clint) was our coach for little league and summer ball … It’s what we’ve known all our life.”
On the field, Corey said the separation between the father-son mentality and the professional one can be tough.
“We give each other a lot of grief,” Corey said. “It’s hard sometimes when you’re trying to make a decision to separate, ‘Hey, you know this is an assistant coach and it’s his opinion’ rather than ‘Hey, it’s my son’s opinion.’”
With the coaching staff in a family of their own, the team is connected through a stronger bond.
“When two of the coaches are talking to their dad out on the field,” Corey said. “It kinda gives (the team) that feeling … I’m just a part of this big happy family.”
Senior outfielder Morgan Estell said the family aspect is apparent when the team plays.
“When you look at us, you can tell we all just click,” Estell said.
According to Estell, Corey is on the more aggressive side of coaching, while Casey is the one to give a pat on the back. Clint is a mixture of both.
“They all have their strengths,” Estell said. “It shows during the game and at practice.”
The mixture of family to the team extends past the coaching staff itself. Clint said softball is an affair in which their wives and children are a part of.
“(The team) see the grandsons running around, they see the wives here … they’re here all the time,” Clint said. “I’m real excited about them and their contributions to the program.”
Scott Woodard, another assistant coach who is seen as just as much as a son to Clint, for Myers and used to change Corey’s diapers as a babysitter.
Clint said the bond between him and his sons will be continually shared throughout their time coaching for Auburn.
“The family mentality that we have here … you can see it in the way (the team) act(s), in the way they care for each other,” Clint said. “To me, it’s a dream come true.”
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