CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – With its second-ever middle school team, Clarksville Academy softball found itself as champions of the Tennessee Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
Clarksville Academy athletic director Jake Peterson sent out a request for middle school players in the fall of 2020. The Cougars fielded their first middle school team in 2019 but were unable to compete the following year due to a shortage of players. Spirits were low, but CA was determined to turn the program around. The first step in that process was the hiring of veteran coach Gene Rose.
“Coach Rose’s hiring was a turning point for our program,” Peterson said in a release. “His history with coaching and drive to improve our program was just what we needed to be successful. Our girls believed in him from the beginning, and the results of the season show that. In our first year in the TIAA, I was so happy for the girls and coaches. A first-year program gets things going, to find a way to be champions of the league is extremely impressive. I appreciate the leadership from Coach Gene Rose, Mike Trent and Cara Miller. They are the ones that really put our (Intermediate School) softball program in motion. We have an eager group of players and parents to grow our softball program, and I am excited about the future of our entire softball program.”
The Cougars had a full season with both district and non-district games and finished 10-4 on the year. Two of their four losses were to then-undefeated Davidson Academy, but CA reeled off five-straight wins to face the top-seeded Bears once again in the TIAA semifinal round. A strikeout sealed the 9-7 upset and cemented a spot in the championship game.
Clarksville Academy then traveled to Friendship Christian School for the tournament championship on April 22 and came away with the 9-6 win. The Cougars fielded 13 players on this season’s roster and graduate just two players after this spring.
“This group of girls were a team from the start,” Rose said in a release. “It was always about what they could do to help each other to improve as a whole. I see great things for the program as a whole. Having a good middle school program will help develop players that will also help the high school program. Both the middle school and varsity coaches continue to work together to develop a strong overall CA Softball program.”