Rotary Golf 2024

Southern, Flanary reunite at Wylie East

by | Apr 13, 2017 | Latest, Sports

By Greg Ford
Sports Editor
[email protected]

WYLIE — It wasn’t that long ago Amy Southern and Courtney Flanary were working together to produce a winning softball program.

That was back in 2008-’10, when Southern was an assistant coach at Flower Mound Marcus, and Flanary was one of the Lady Marauders’ top players. Now, seven years later, the duo is back together, this time with Southern as Wylie East head softball coach, and Flanary as her assistant.

Together, they’re looking to turn around the Lady Raiders’ fortunes and guide them to a place they’ve never been: the playoffs. This past week, they guided East to a 9-8 come-from-behind win over Mesquite Poteet on April 4, a victory that kept them on the cusp of playoff contention (top-four finishers). However, they then fell 11-8 last Friday to Royse City, which dropped East to 5-5 in District 15-5A, but still within reach of fourth place.

“One of the things they told me when I became a head coach was that I could 

bring in my own assistant, and Courtney immediately came to mind,” Southern said. “We kind of always joked about it, when she was in high school, that after she went off and got her degree, I was going to make her my assistant coach when I became a head coach. It was kind of cool to be able to actually do that.”

For Flanary, it’s her first high school coaching job after playing four years of college ball, one at Sam Houston State and the rest at Abilene Christian.

She remained at the latter as an assistant coach for one season before coming back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where she was a softball instructor at a training facility.

“It’s been awesome,” Flanary said. “I and (the coach) have a good relationship. We were close (at Marcus), and had a good, fun relationship. I was really excited that she thought of me to be her assistant. It’s been a good transition for me; we have a lot of fun out here with the girls and each other.”

Flanary credits Southern with improving her mental approach as a player, and making softball the most enjoyable part of high school.

“She taught me that softball practice should be something that every day is fun,” Flanery said. “Southern is hilarious – all the girls will say that — she has real good sense of humor. I just remember having that relationship and thinking the world of her when I was in high school.”

From a coaching standpoint, Southern said Flanary was “very competitive,” and could be depended upon to do the right thing.

“She never tired, and even if she did, she was never going to stop,” Southern said. “She was a role model for her teammates, and the kind of model athlete you want to coach.”

As an assistant coach, Flanary said she’s learning a lot from Southern about what goes into the game off the field, specifically the things that go on “behind closed doors.”

The teaching works both ways, Southern noted.

“We did form a friendship when she was a player,” she said. “She has gotten older, and I have gotten older. It’s an adult relationship now. She brings a lot (to the job), and she has a lot of softball (experience), especially from the college level. She’s teaching me things every day, so it’s great to be able to work with her.”

Subscribe RH Love

0 Comments

Order photos

Related News

East girls kicking off postseason with Heath

East girls kicking off postseason with Heath

Amaya Dawkins (10) and the rest of Wylie East seniors will look to lead the Lady Raiders back to the state tourney as the playoffs start next week. East will kick things off in Caddo Mills on Tuesday, March 26 against the Rockwall-Heath Lady Hawks. (Tina Lopez/The...

read more
Lady Pirates to face Tyler Legacy in playoff-opener

Lady Pirates to face Tyler Legacy in playoff-opener

The first time Wylie took on Tyler Legacy this year, freshman Kennedy Butler (3) scored a pair of goals as part of a 2-2 draw. Next, the two squads will meet at City Bank Stadium in Forney in the bi-district round of the playoffs. (Tina Lopez/The Wylie News)  The...

read more
Collin County no stranger to severe storms

Collin County no stranger to severe storms

The tornado that hit Copeville and other parts of Collin County in 2015 did extensive damage. File Art The Federal Emergency Management Agency predicts Collin County has a high risk of tornadoes this year, but that’s nothing new. For starters, more tornadoes have been...

read more
Community discusses disputed development

Community discusses disputed development

Volunteers of Communities & Creeks United hand out yard signs opposing a high density development between Parker and Murphy. Bob Wieland/C&S Media  There’s no longer any question as to who is building a densely packed housing community just west of Southfork...

read more
Police chief talks equipment, personnel requests

Police chief talks equipment, personnel requests

Police Chief Anthony Henderson provided an overview of the department’s proposed five-year plan and talked about staffing issues at a city council work session last week. The police department recently earned the Texas Police Chiefs Best Practices Accreditation, said...

read more
Indian dancers entertain, teach library crowd

Indian dancers entertain, teach library crowd

Tejas Dance students Shrujana Kumar and Mahi Devappa performing at Smith Library Thursday, March 14. Jeremy Hallock/The Wylie News Parents and children showed up at the Smith Public Library last week to watch and learn about classical Indian dance. ...

read more
Plan, prepare now for tornado season

Plan, prepare now for tornado season

This Farmersville mobile home landed on CR 697 due to straight line winds in eastern Collin County in 2019. Courtesy Farmersville FD The three-month Texas tornado “season” begins in April and a new analysis ranks Collin County near the top of the list of 100 most...

read more
Experts discuss fentanyl at WISD event

Experts discuss fentanyl at WISD event

Wylie Police Detective Joshua Rountree, right,shows parents what fentanyl looks like at last week’s seminar held at Burnett Junior High. Jeremy Hallock/The Wylie News Wylie ISD families and community members learned of the dangers of fentanyl, vaping and social media...

read more
Mural will be preserved

Mural will be preserved

Artist Roger Nitz at the mural he painted in 2012 in downtown Wylie facing Olde City Park. The mural, located at 104 S. Ballard Ave., is painted on a building that will soon be razed.  Jeremy Hallock/The Wylie News The mural that has been welcoming visitors at the...

read more
Order photos