Avery head softball coach Merritt Yackey, pictured here during Senior Daywith son Brock, wife Sara, and daughter Morgan,
has accepted the head softball position at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk
With a string of unprecedented success with the Avery High School Lady Vikings softball program, it was only a matter of time before others took notice of Merritt Yackey's ability to move a team with hard work in the right direction.
Coach Yackey and Lees-McRae College announced this week that Yackey will be leaving as Avery head coach to take the reins of the Lady Bobcats softball program.
"It is a wonderful opportunity and a great challenge," Coach Yackey said following the announcement. "I truly enjoyed my coaching tenure at Avery High School and working with tremendous girls. The greatest joy was watching the improvement of the girls individually as well as a team due to their good work ethic in practice. That improvement was seen from two perspectives, during the course of the season as well as from one year to the next."
Yackey has coached a number of quality players while at Avery, including a pair of All-State selections and four All-District players from this past season.
"To have the opportunity to add someone like Merritt Yackey to our athletic department was crucial to our growth. He is a proven success in every aspect of his life," said Lees McRae College Director of Athletics Craig McPhail. "A great role model for everyone in the community, a respected father, husband, businessman and employee were all qualities I appreciated and needed in a coach. I am looking for him to continue the progress of our women's softball program, but also help guide me in our quest to make this one of the best athletic programs in the southeast."
Coach Yackey has over 25 years of experience in higher education. He was Director of Development/Special Giving at Albion College from 1988-1993, Director of Development at Converse College from 1995-1996, Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving at Catawba College from 1997-2000, Special Assistant to the President/Campaign Director at Limestone College from 2000-2002, Vice President for Development at Mansfield University from 2002-2004, and Vice President for Advancement at Lees-McRae College from 2004-2007.
Yackey has been the head softball coach at Avery High School since 2007, where he has coached a host of all-conference, all-district, and all-state players, including his own daughter Morgan, a 2009 graduate who has committed to play softball at Muskingum College next season.
Coach Yackey takes over for former coach Julie Kennedy, who spent six seasons at the helm of the Lady Bobcats, leading them to their first winning season in ten years with a 22-20 overall record and 8-10 record for seventh place in Carolinas Conference play in 2009.
“Merritt is a class act, a proven success, and we are very fortunate to have someone like him join our athletic department, McPhail said. “I believe he possesses a unique and diverse skill set which is so valuable to small college athletics. I am looking to Merritt to continue the growth of our softball program, where Coach Kennedy has built it up to this point and be able to take these young women who come to Lees-McRae to new heights in our conference.”
“I have grown to know Lees-McRae as a college that takes care of her students and provides the education they need to make a difference in the careers of their choice,” Yackey said. “Having an opportunity to nurture student-athletes through the softball program and improve upon the groundwork that has been laid is exciting. Additionally, I look forward to working with an excellent and committed athletic staff.”
Coach Yackey also hopes to see some local high school players have the opportunity to be a part of the Lady Bobcats program in the future.
"At the College there is both fall ball and the scheduled season in the spring, as it is a commitment to being a good college student-athlete. As college student-athletes, the softball players bring developed skills with them allowing my focus to be on the enhancement of those skills and spending adequate practice time preparing for game situations," the coach added. "Coaching collegiately will be a great challenge and opportunity. Hopefully at some point we will have girls from Avery High School recruited to play at Lees-McRae!"
