Pillow Academy announced the hiring of Joy Gleason as its new head softball coach on Monday.
Gleason is replacing Jud Thigpen, who served in that capacity for the last six years. Thigpen, who was also the head baseball coach for eight years, is now on staff at Washington School.
Gleason and her husband, Steve, who is an assistant football coach at Pillow, have three children — Gavin, 15, Avery, 14, and Teagan, 7 months old.
Gleason and her family live in Cleveland, where she has her own chiropractic clinic, which she has operated for the last 10 years.
“I will continue to run my clinic in Cleveland and work my schedule around softball practices and the season,” said Gleason, a former player and coach at Delta State University. “I enjoy player development. I want to see the girls progress each day and get better.
“I also want to win. That’s the reason there is a scoreboard. I’m a competitive person, and I don’t like losing.”
Gleason had a meeting with the players for the upcoming season Monday and quickly outlined a few goals:
1. Win; 2. Teach the girls to work hard; 3. Learn how to think and not be robots; 4. Learn how to overcome adversity; 5. Learn responsibility and accountability; 6. Learn the game.
PA Athletic Director Jim Crowder is excited about the hiring of Gleason.
“She knows the game and has experience coaching and playing on the college level ,” said Crowder. “She has a passion for softball. We are very proud to have her on staff.”
Gleason played four years at DSU from 2000-2004 as the Lady Statesmen went 148-77 during that span. She was named All-Gulf South Conference four years in a row, and she was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-South Region team three times.
She was named to the GSC All-Decade second team, and she played for the Mississippi all-star team in 2004 that played Team USA. She was inducted into the Delta State athletic hall of fame in 2014.
Her coaching experience includes two years as a grad assistant at DSU from 2004-2005, and as an assistant coach from 2005-2007. She also coached the Delta Rockers travel ball team from 2012 to 2015.
Contact Calvin Stevens at 662-581-7234 or cstevens@gwcommonwealth.com.
