Energetic and passionate are two ways to describe Skyline Head Softball Coach Shawna Bybee.
“I am pretty intense and loud,” Shawna said.
Spend five minutes at a Lady Tigers softball game and you’ll see what she means.
But it’s not the energy or coaching a state ranked Skyline team that makes Shawna unique most among her coaching peers.
“May 24th is the due date.”
That’s right, Shawna is eight months pregnant.
“It’s kind of been a little stressful,” Shawna said.
How could it not be? After all, she’s coaching a softball team as a soon-to-be-mom.
So Shawna leans on her husband Brett, Skyline’s Head Baseball Coach, for help at home and on the field.
“He helps me, helps my hitters out with their swing and stuff like that,” Shawna said.
But that’s not all.
“I try to keep her understanding of what she’s carrying with her every day because I think her competitiveness forgets about that and she wants to be out there hands on and she can’t do that,” Brett said.
“Sometimes she tries to do things that we know she can’t so we tell her ‘hey, you have a baby, you can’t do that,’” said Skyline softball player Ella Dougherty.
Now, as the due date approaches, so do the softball and baseball playoffs.
Meaning Brett and Shawna have prepared their teams, just in case games overlap with a trip to the hospital.
“I’ve had a couple games already this year where we’ve had [an assistant coach] coach third and I coached first just so the boys are used to it if I ever have to leave a game, it’s the not the first time they see coach Lyle at third base,” Brett said.
If you’re wondering what happens if the Lady Tigers make it to state when the baby arrives, baby Jaylee Jean won’t waste any time joining the Lady Tiger family.
“She’d probably show up with the baby [at state] the day she has it,” said Skyline softball player Lilly Whitten.
“I think the baby’s going to state if they make it,” Shawna said.
