By Terra Avilla
Some people come into your life on purpose. And then some people come into your life because your daughter adopted their daughter as a best friend, you somehow ended up moving right next to her parents, and then because apparently that wasn’t enough the two of you got absolutely finagled into co-coaching an 8U softball team together.
That’s Cassie. And honestly? Best accidental series of events of my life.
When you spend that much time with someone ferrying kids around, living steps from her family, sharing a dugout you get to know who a person really is. And who Cassie really is? She’s just good people.
Like, genuinely, no-performance-needed, good people. She’s chill in a way that makes everyone around her feel more relaxed.
She’s kind not because it benefits her, but because that’s just who she is. And in a world where that’s becoming rarer, it stands out.
You can learn a lot about a person by watching how they make decisions under zero pressure. During our draft, Cassie wasn’t hunting for the next travel ball prodigy. Her whole strategy? Find the sweet girls. That was it. That was the plan.
And it showed up in the best possible ways. One girl walked into tryouts in sparkly shoes…not cleats, sparkly shoes and Cassie didn’t even hesitate. We’re taking her.
Another girl wanted to do a cartwheel on the baseline mid-drill. We called dibs before she even finished the cartwheel. Because that’s the team Cassie was building. Big hearts, good energy, and apparently excellent taste in footwear.
Her one goal for every single girl on that roster? That she wants to come back and play again next year. Not a trophy. Not a rankings boost. Just a kid who loved the experience enough to want more of it. I don’t know a better definition of success in youth sports than that.
Additionally, I have genuinely learned softball things from Cassie during our practices. She played softball, she knows the game, and she shows up with actual practice plans and a real vision for what she wants the girls to get out of each session. But she carries none of that with even a hint of ego. She just does the work, teaches the kids, and makes sure everyone feels seen and valued while she’s doing it.
That combination of knowledge and heart is something you can’t teach. You either have it or you don’t. Cassie has it.
None of this is surprising once you know where Cassie comes from. Getting to live next to her mom and dad has been its own gift, and it explains so much about who Cassie is. She coaches like her momma raised her. She leads with love because that’s what she was shown.
So, here’s to my sweet Cassie, sparkly-shoe-endorsing, cartwheel-approving, practice-plan-having, genuinely one of my favorite humans. Our girls are lucky to have you in their corner. This community is lucky to have you, period.
