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After winning a regional game for the second time in Keith High School history Keith Softball Head Coach Towanna Flennory is the Selma Times-Journal Coach of the Year for the third straight year. Flennory led the Lady Bears through a dominating regular season where Keith had multiple shutouts and mercy rule wins. Keith easily won the Area Tournament to get a spot in the regionals and it was there where Flennory won her Coach of the Year award by silencing many nay-sayers, winning a regional game for only the second time in school history.

“Overall I thought our season was a big success,” Flennory said. “Our ultimate goal was to win a championship that’s what we played for. You always want to go as far as you can. I was impressed with my ladies and how they grew up in the regionals. I think they grew up in regions because in our first round, there was a lot of adversity. There was a lot of defeat and a lot of other stuff going on. At some point we felt like the game wasn’t being called the way it should be so it was just a lot of stuff going on. I watched my team grow up. I think that’s probably the most refreshing thing that I needed was to see my ladies grow up that game.”

The regular season for Keith was dominating and throughout the season Flennory had to keep the team engaged while they were winning game after game convincingly.

“We always went into every game thinking we didn’t know what the other team had,” Flennory said. “We went in thinking they were the best every time we stepped on the field. It didn’t matter if we had beaten that team the game before by 30 we came on the field to compete. We just wanted to compete. Our motto is if we do what we’re supposed to do then we don’t have to worry about them. As long as we are doing our job and everyone is doing their assignment then we are going to be ok no matter the opponent.”

Flennory was recently named an AHSAA 2023 Making a Difference Award recipient and along with Coach of the Year she feels honored.

“It’s an honor,” Flennory said. “We have coaches in the district that have not won the Coach of Year at all and here I am with the honor of having received the award three years in a row. It goes to show the work that we put in. The honor goes with the work and the sacrifices and the time. All that goes into it.”