By DAVID HAYS
Lander Sports Information
GREENWOOD – Six years ago, Lander softball coach Doug Spears was retiring and riding off into the sunset of his home state of Texas. Today, he says his retirement plan is working out just fine.
"I'm enjoying retirement," said Spears, who posted an 803-474 record in 24 years as coach.
He retired Dec. 31, 2005, and moved back home to northeast Texas.
"I have a little garden, I do quite a bit of hunting, and a lot of fishing," Spears said. "I can pick my days to fish. If there is too much wind out on the lake, I can wait until another day.
"And I am becoming really good at piddling. I have started a lot of projects. I have restored some land. I have built a nice cabin-like home. I'm just enjoying life."
Spears has done some post-career traveling, and this week he made a return trip to Greenwood to accept his induction into the Lander Athletics Hall of Fame.
"I'm extremely honored and humbled to be joining such a group of men and women," Spears said of his Hall induction. "You don't go into coaching even thinking about something like that. It isn't anything I ever expected.
"But it's certainly a prestigious honor and I am thrilled to be in it with the likes of Coach (Finis) Horne and Coach (Joe) Cabri, and people like Dr. (Larry) Jackson, Cheryl Bell, Betty Williams, Jeff May and so many great players. It's an honor to be associated with such a group."
Spears earned his undergraduate degree from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La., then served in Vietnam. He used the GI Bill to return to school, earning a Master's degree in Student Personnel Services at Northwestern State.
His first job opportunity came in Greenwood, thanks to Lander's current Vice President of Student Affairs Randy Bouknight, whom he met at Panola College in east Texas. Bouknight came to the school to become the Dean of men.
Spears came to Lander to start the counseling program. Lander became a state-supported institution in July 1973 and Spears arrived in August. He also became director of Veterans Affairs, certifying veterans as well as their children, dependents or anyone who was eligible for military benefits.
Nine years later, Spears would become softball coach.
"I didn't plan on coaching. I was riding down to Myrtle Beach with Jeff May, going to a student affairs conference, and he said 'you know we are thinking about starting softball and I think you would be a good candidate to coach that team.' I said, 'really?' Jeff and I played some summer ball together and we were friends. Jeff was assistant basketball coach at that time and was also working in student affairs," and would also become athletics director in 1995.
"So I got back and talked to Coach Horne and he said, 'why don't you apply for that job?' I did and they announced about July 1981 that I got the job. I was proud to be a college coach. I had great support from the athletics directors Finis Horne the first half of my career and Jeff May the last half. They gave me everything they could within the budget and the community supported it (softball) as well."
The Lander softball program would begin play in 1982, and Spears had to scramble to start a team.
"I had nothing. We started this from scratch. I didn't have a field, dugouts, benches or backstops. And I had no players. I went to the admissions office and had to find anybody who had ever played softball. I got lucky and found four junior college players who wanted to play, but they came to Lander because of its academic reputation," said Spears, who couldn't offer scholarships in the first three years of the program.
One of his top early recruits was Sheila Rhodes (Hamilton), who would eventually coach Greenwood High School to two girls basketball state championship before becoming the Lander women's basketball coach.
"She was committed to Clemson. But she wanted to play (softball). After a fall practice, she walked into my office and I just got uniforms, and she said 'do you think I would fit in any of those uniforms?'
"She transferred to Lander and made All-Conference. So we had a pitcher and she was a good hitter too. We were in the (NAIA District 6) championship game our first year. We were one win away from going to Nebraska because back then there were 16 districts and you went straight from districts to nationals."
Lander would continue to compete for championships. But a national championship stayed out of reach.
"I was disappointed that I couldn't bring a national title to Lander because I thought I had a couple of teams capable of doing that," Spears said. "But once you get to the playoffs, it takes a tremendous amount of luck to go along with lots of talent.
"There was one particular team that was special. The 1987 team was special. They won 46 and lost only seven. We played Francis Marion five times that year. They beat us for the championship. We had them about 5-2 in the fifth inning and some very unusual things happened. They won and went on to get beat in the national championship game in extra innings, which confirmed that we were pretty good. That was (Lander Athletics Hall of Famer) Kim Harper's senior year."
There would be other successful Lander teams.
"The 1990 team won 44 games and won the District 6 championship and repeated that (championship) in '91," Spears said. "We had several other teams that won 40-plus ball games. Those were all pretty good teams."
Spears, who had only one losing season, entered the 2005 season at No. 7 on the NCAA Division II's winningest active coaches list.
"The players won over 800 ball games. I didn't score a run," Spears said, with a laugh. "It was a team thing. We all worked hard."
Spears was successful with an easy-going coaching style, which players appreciated.
"I didn't holler at players and I didn't really like coaches who screamed and hollered," Spears said. "I didn't like to embarrass players. You don't have to raise your voice. I think if you are consistent and they know you mean what you say, then you don't have to do all of that (screaming). I would usually pull a player to the side. I think the players appreciated that."
Spears had four volunteer assistant coaches over 24 years, and all four attended the Hall of Fame induction ceremony along with several members of Spears' immediate family. His two pitching coaches were Dee Garner (19 years) and Larry Duncan (five years), whose son Brandon currently coaches the Lander softball team.
"I put those two (pitching) coaches up against anybody," Spears said. "They liked to keep things simple. Dee Garner let the pitcher and catcher call the ball game. You just don't see that anymore. The pitcher and catcher don't have to think anymore."
The other assistants were Greenwood American Legion Post 20 baseball coach Steve Huntsberger in the earlier years, followed by Lander student Michael Shier.
"Steve Huntsberger loved the game of fast-pitch softball. He was really into it, and I appreciated him," Spears said.
"Michael Shier loved Lander and loved being a part of that softball program. He learned the sport through me. If you told him to go hit infield, you would have to stop him because he would keep doing it. He was a real hard worker."
Spears was also scheduled to tour the Jeff May Athletic Complex and see the new softball field. Lander's softball facility was named Doug Spears Field in 2008, and the new field will bear the same name.
Spears won two NAIA District 6 titles and Palmetto State Conference titles in 1990 and 1991. Seven of his teams finished ranked in the Top 20 when Lander was a member of NAIA.
Spears was the 1990 NAIA East Region Coach of the Year, the NAIA District 6 Coach of the Year in 1982, '85, '86, '87 and '90 and Palmetto State Conference Coach of the Year in 1990. He was also the Peach Belt Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1994.
Spears was very active in the NAIA, serving as District 6 softball chairman from 1982-92. He was a member of the Softball Coaches Association Executive Committee from 1990-92, and also served on the Pan-American Team Selection Committee in 1991.
He coached All-Americans Kim Harper (NAIA 1985, '86, '87), Kristi Weed (NAIA 1990, 1991), Ann Harbin (NAIA 1992), Kristi Johnson (NCAA 1994), Brantley Mack (NCAA 1996, '97) and Ashley Tomlinson (2001). Spears also coached 23 All-Peach Belt Conference players and 56 All-NAIA District 6 players.
Spears lives southeast of Carthage, Tex., located near the Louisiana border approximately 150 miles east of Dallas. An avid hunter and fisherman, Spears spends lots of time with his siblings in east Texas and son Michael in Lafayette, La. He now has a 1-year-old granddaughter.
Spears grew up on his dad's farm, where the family raised cattle, cotton, corn and tomatoes. His dad deeded the land to Spears and his brother, both lots covering several acres, and split with an oil well.
"I am getting it (the land) back like it was when I was a boy growing up and have raised a few melons for the fun of it," he said.
"I can sit in the swing on my front porch for a couple of hours and just watch the hummingbirds and squirrels. I have plenty of walking trails to get exercise. It's the simple things that I enjoy."
