Vaughn taking over as Lady Warrior softball coach
Mitch Vaughn has been coaching in one capacity or another for 25 years. This past year he and his wife, Lisa, took assistant coaching positions with the Jefferson County High School’s softball team. When Head Coach Jim Borum announced he would be retiring, Vaughn said he decided it was time to apply.
"When Coach Borum talked about retiring, it really opened my eyes about coaching,” Vaughn said.
In January, the school board announced he would be taking over the team.
He has coached his own kids in recreation league, mostly in softball and baseball, but coached some football and basketball as well. The father of six, there were ample opportunities for him to step in and support his kids on a variety of fields.
A 20-year veteran adaptive special education teacher, Vaughn has also coached at the middle school level.
When his daughter Lilly, at 11-years-old, decided she wanted to play pitcher on her softball team, he started getting into fast-pitch for the first time. He has attended nearly all of her pitching lessons since then and even coached a travel ball team for a couple of years.
About three weeks ago he and his wife attended the National Fastpitch Association clinic in Nashville where he got to meet coaches from five of the top 10 college fastpitch programs in the country. The whole experience was inspiring he said.
“I’ve really gotten into the idea of establishing a culture around and within the softball team,” Vaughn said. “It’s not that the culture has been bad, they have been competitive under Coach Borum, and have won region championships. It’s all about establishing relationships with these girls. That’s what makes a difference. You can have a team and call it a team, but if everybody’s not on the same page it just doesn’t work.”
This past season the girls went to the first round of the playoffs, but struggled some during the season, going 2-10 in region play.
Vaughn said the Lady Warriors moved into a new region this year and saw a lot of tough competition in Bleckley County, Swainsboro and East Laurens.
“We played some good teams in tournaments earlier in the season too,” Vaughn said. “When we were making out the schedule this time last year, Coach Borum and I decided then we wanted to play teams that were going to make us better. I do believe that iron sharpens iron.”
Vaughn said that throughout the season he saw a lot of heart and potential in the Lady Warriors. He said they played some of their best games against the toughest competition.
“We had Bleckley 7-0 before they came back and beat us,” he said. “There are some good things coming, I believe. I think that we are going to be able to compete in this region this year. But I do have some dreams, goals to go further than we’ve been before. I’d like to make it to Columbus for the Elite 8.”
He is looking forward to getting all of the girls into conditioning to prepare for summer league play where he will be able to start fine-tuning the team for the fall season.
“In interested in developing a championship mindset, but it’s not just about wins and losses,” Vaughn said. “It’s about developing these girls to become young ladies.”
JCHS Principal Dr. John McAfee said that he was both thankful and appreciative of all Coach Borum and other coaches have done in the past to build the softball program.
"We are really excited to have Mitch," McAfee said. "He is a veteran teacher who brings a lot of enthusiasm and energy. He has a strong desire and plan to continue to build the program. I'm excited for the positive impact he will have on the academic, athletic and character development of students who play softball at JCHS."
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Vaughn taking over as Lady Warrior softball coach
