Legendary softball coaches Wayne & Lisa Daigle call it a career

Duo combined to win three state championships in 23 seasons at Smithson Valley

SPRING BRANCH, Tex. – For as long as there's been softball at Smithson Valley High School, there's been a Daigle running the show.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

Twenty-three years after becoming arguably Texas high school softball's best coaching tandem, Wayne and Lisa Daigle have decided to retire. The couple's final game leading the Ranger softball program was last Thursday, a 15-3 loss to rival New Braunfels in the regular season finale. 

"Twenty-three years sounds like a long time, but you look back and think about all the changes and it's crazy," said Lisa Diagle. "It seems like we applied for this job only five years ago. You blink and all of a sudden it's been 23 years."

Thursday night's loss to the Unicorns ended a bittersweet season for Smithson Valley. The program missed the playoffs for the first time since it's inaugural campaign in 1997.

For the Daigles, the timing was right to make a change. 

"We want to be able to retire and travel a little bit and spend time away from softball," Lisa said. "We need a change and a different type of lifestyle where we can just kick back and not talk about softball when you wake up in the morning or when you go to bed at night or worry about what the lineup will be next week."

The Daigles turned in impressive numbers during their time at Smithson Valley: 21 straight playoff appearances, 15 district championships, seven state tournament births and three state championships.

However, their legacy is more than just wins and losses. 

"The thing I'll miss most is seeing the girls at 14 when they don't have a clue, then four years later I call a timeout and they already know what I'm going to say," said Wayne. "We didn't just help them win games. We helped them become young women."

"We've been blessed with the opportunity to coach some great kids the past 23 years," said Lisa. "These are our kids. We love them like they're our own, we discipline them like they're our own, we take their problems home with us. It's a really special deal."

A special bond, between coaches and a community.

"When the day comes, when they shut the doors on me, this will probably be the last thing on my mind," said Wayne. "I'll just be running through the 23 years we had here and the great kids we had."