Jack Souther is living disproof of prevalent theories about coaching.

He’s 81 years old but relates just fine to today’s young people. In fact, his retirement as Lee University’s men’s golf coach has been delayed because his Flames earned him a fifth consecutive trip to the NAIA national tournament.

“He just loves kids,” said Sam Bedwell, a 19-year-old Lee freshman golfer from Ooltewah. “I could tell from the moment that he signed me that he loves what he’s doing. With him we’re always right, whether it’s school or golf. He helps us out any way he can.”

Souther long ago proved that a good coach is a good coach, no matter what sport, and Gentleman Jack also proved that a coach doesn’t have to scream, threaten or bribe to develop a good team.

A devout Church of God member, he came to the church’s school in Cleveland as women’s basketball coach after retiring at 55 as an Ohio school superintendent who happened to referee college basketball. His Lady Flames went to the National Christian College Athletic Association national tournament nine times in his 10 seasons. They won it once and always finished third or better.

Then he started the Lee fastpitch softball program, finding a couple of pitchers to go with otherwise all slowpitch players, and his four years laid the groundwork for what has become a regular participant in NAIA nationals.

His golden years have let him see Lee’s golden age, expanding from 900 students to more than 4,000 in a magnificent expansion directed by president Paul Conn. But now Souther is 81, still teaching seven recreation classes a semester and getting ready for another national tournament.

This year’s golf Flames did something none of their higher-ranked predecessors did: win the Region XIII tournament. It was a surprise to everyone but him — and maybe them. But it’s what they had to do to get back to the national event, which begins today in Plymouth, Ind.

“We had an awful spring, but a lot of that was my fault. The way my wife was, I just couldn’t practice with them,” Souther said. “But we had real good workouts the 10 days before the regional, and they played like I thought they could all along.”

Souther and Jean, his wife of 58 years, “did everything together” until she developed colon cancer in 2006. Indeed, where you saw one, you always saw the other. With his Lady Flames — and he always called the players “ladies” — Jean stayed on them to eat properly, among other things.

She died six weeks ago, and while Jack tries to get out of the house as much as possible because he misses her so, he’s grateful that she’s done with the suffering she endured for a year and a half.

The golf team has been a big part of his coping.

“Our entire team went to his wife’s funeral,” Bedwell related, “and when we shook his hand, he said, ‘We’ll have practice today at 2:30.’ We had those 10 days of good practice because he was out there with us the entire time. He was using his time to keep himself occupied, but he gave us a lot of good help.”

Souther took over the golf team for Dr. Stanley Butler not long before Butler died early in 1993.

As much as college golfers know their own games and stay in touch with personal coaches, Souther is much more than a van driver. He played quite a bit of golf when he was younger, and Bedwell said the coach rarely hits but sometimes “surprises” the players by grabbing one of their irons and knocking a ball “150 yards right down the middle.”

“Before the regions, I was playing OK but not great,” Bedwell said. “We were out at Cleveland Country Club on the driving range hitting, and he came up behind me and said, ‘You know, you’re not really turning much. You’re just swinging with your arms.’ I realized he was right and finished fourth in the region.”

Teammate Josh Lawson from Hixson was second in the tournament hosted by Mobile at Fort Gaines, Ga., where Souther saw an alligator roll and kill a deer.

“They had rattlesnakes down there, too,” Souther said. “If you hit a ball into the woods, you don’t go after it.”

He’ll be 82 in June and said he’s enjoying this moment but doesn’t have the necessary enthusiasm to continue coaching. He’ll still be teaching, though — maybe even adding some classes.

“When you’ve been around kids, you’ve got to stay around them. That’s what keeps you going,” he said.

Comments