Field dedicated to former coach
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It’s hard to keep Daugh Sizemore from teaching kids about baseball.
The former Red Bird Christian School coach can be seen in the stands, talking to people about the game and how to play it.
Recently, the school honored him by unveiling the “Daugh Sizemore Field” sign before a game with Lee County. Athletics director Tonya Asher said they wanted to honor him for all of his hard work coaching basketball, baseball and softball on all levels.
“Mr. Sizemore always put the community first,” she said. “He and others ran a softball league for years before he officially began his coaching career which lasted 32 years.
“That’s a long time. I did it for 17 years and I’m exhausted!” she said patting him on the back.
It took the coach a bit by surprise, but he took the honor graciously and with a hug from his wife Joyce.
“I thank the Lord for the opportunity for what I have done and I wouldn’t change anything,” Coach Sizemore said. “All of those years coaching baseball, especially.
“Some of our teams weren’t the best, but we’d win one or two games a year in our struggles. But over the years, our baseball players have come back and talked to me. And they enjoyed their time on the field more than their time in the gym – I coached them at both places – and they were more successful in basketball, but they loved baseball.”
He graduated from RBCS in 1964, then served in the military, fighting in the Vietnam War and, later, Desert Storm. Coach Sizemore served for 32 years in the military including the National Guard. He started teaching at RBCS in 1987 and helped bring baseball back with the help of former principal Dr. Taylor Collins.
“Your husband loved baseball,” Coach Sizemore said to Kari Collins, executive director of Red Bird Mission. “It wasn’t a sport from when I graduated until he brought it back. The Collins boys were always into softball, too.”
Kari said that love of baseball had multiple parts. “He brought me in with a bar of lye soap and a wire brush to wash those white pants after every single game,” she said with a laugh. “Because that’s how much it meant to him to look good and to have fun and to understand what baseball and other sports are all about.
“I read in a book – and it came to mind when we were talking,” she said to Coach, “good coaches teach kids how to keep their eye on the ball, but great coaches help them to understand how to keep their eyes on Christ. That’s what you did, that’s what you do, and that’s what you’ll do for a longtime to come.”
Coach Sizemore thanked the Lord for the opportunity to do what he’s done.
“I look forward to doing more,” he said. “You know the Bible says the field is ripe but the harvesters are few. I just thank You.”
To support the baseball program, go to www.rbmission.org/donate and choose School and type ‘Daugh Sizemore Field’ in the comments section.
