Softball’s power couple
Daigles wrap up stellar coaching careers Thursday night
Coaches Wayne and Lisa Daigle talk with the team in the outfield.
April 17, 2019
As the 2019 softball season comes to an end, so do the 23-year coaching careers of Lisa and Wayne Daigle.
Married in 1986, the couple made their way to the valley in 1997, making a quick splash as the team made the playoffs in their coaching debut season.
Within their first five seasons, the couple coached the Rangers to five playoff appearances, four state semifinals appearances, and a state championship in 2001 – putting Smithson Valley softball officially on the map in just five short seasons.
As of 2014, the Daigles had racked up 464 total wins and only 103 losses. Those 17 seasons came with 15 district titles, seven final fours and three state titles.
But their impact on the valley stretches far beyond the softball field. Lisa Daigle teaches Teen Leadership class geared toward guiding young lives to find their path and dealing with everyday life as a high school student. Lisa also puts on Fields of Faith, a gathering at the football field where students share testimonies about a low place in their life and how finding God helped them out of that situation. So to say they will be missed by the student body is an understatement.
As for the 2019 softball season, the Rangers were eliminated from the playoff race with a loss to Steele, which means the final Daigle softball season will come to an end Tursday when they host New Braunfels. Even though their final season didn’t go as planned, they can hang their hat on 21 playoff appearances, seven final fours, and three state titles.
They also can know they touched the lifes of athletes and students throughout the years.