By B.J. Bennett
 
During her famed softball career at the College of Coastal Georgia, Hayley Dickerson earned NAIA All-American honors, was named the Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year, was both athletic and academic All-Sun Conference, was recognized as the Mariners' Female Student-Athlete of the Year, finished her career as the program's all-time leader in wins and strikeouts, led Coastal Georgia to multiple league championships, claiming MVP honors in one postseason run. Dickerson can legitimately be called the greatest player in Mariner softball history.
 
She now has another title to add to her historic resume: Coastal Georgia assistant softball coach.
 
"I'm super excited. It's definitely going to be different as a coach, compared to being a player, but I'm excited for my role here," Dickerson shared. "I love the girls, I love the team. They all play for each other. I enjoy their company. I think we're all going to get along well and I'm just excited to see where this goes."
 
Veteran head coach Mike Minick has announced Dickerson as the newest assistant coach for the Mariners, adding her experience, perspective and success to a program that is nearing 400 career wins and has advanced to six consecutive national tournament appearances under Minick's leadership. The Mariners are fresh off 38 victories a year ago, return the vast majority of their roster intact and now are bringing even more momentum into the fold with the addition of Dickerson, renown regionally for both her past playing career and her recent role as a trainer and instructor at the youth level.
 
Dickerson has a reputation, one etched and embossed around campus, that precedes her.
 
"We're really excited to have someone that is very familiar with the program," Minick explained. "She's very excited to become a coach, it's something she has wanted to do for a couple years. She's excited to try it. I know she will do a good job. We have already had some practices with her and the players are really responding well to her."
 
Mere years ago, one of the leaders on a title-winning Coastal Georgia team was Dickerson. While her role changes, her standards, moving forward, do not. Dickerson is not a newcomer to the program and steps into her position on the staff with recent gravitas from her time on the roster. Dickerson knows what it takes to win at the highest level and is eager to share that with her new players.   
 
"I can relate to them. I know how that goes, being a college student and being a college softball player at the same time. I know the hard days versus the easy days. I know how to get through that," Dickerson added. "I'll definitely be somebody they can lean on in those situations."
 
Quite notably, Dickerson has the production to back up her perspective. Dickerson will work with Coastal Georgia pitchers with a resume that includes a career record of 63-20, over 539 innings pitched, 418 strikeouts, a career ERA of 1.67 and, above all else, championship success. Her senior season included a 22-6 mark and an ERA of just 1.08. What Dickerson, who will call pitches for the Mariners, explains and expects from the players will come from experience.   
 
Dickerson is excited to work with, among others, seniors Rylee Mills and Hannah Worthington, along with junior Emilia Clemons and sophomore Kate Owens on a talented Coastal Georgia pitching staff. Mills was the Sun Conference Freshman of the Year, a three-time first-team All-Sun Conference honoree and an NAIA All-American who won 20 games and had a sub-two ERA last season. Worthington is an incoming transfer from Georgia Southern who was also previously an all-conference honoree and the program's scholar-athlete of the year at Chipola College.
 
"I am here to help them become leaders on the field," Dickerson offered of her hopes for the pitching staff. "I will be here to talk them through the hard innings, the innings they feel like they can't get through by themselves. Again, I will be someone they can lean on anytime they need me."
 
Minick remembers a specific focus and mindset that helped make Dickerson such a great player. Beyond just her physical skills, Dickerson was committed to the process that leads to winning.  
 
"Always prepared, always working hard. And just an absolute bulldog on the mound. Wanted the ball all the time. Could handle pressure situations, fantastically," Minick recalled of Dickerson the player. "Another reason why my girls need to pick her brain."
 
Dickerson's hire is a full-circle moment for a player who once led the program from right inside it.
 
"We're grateful to have Hayley join our coaching staff. She's our most decorated player ever. Really set the standard for all of the pitchers than came after her. Was a part of our championship teams. I think any time you can bring in a student-athlete who was a part of your program at its best, has that championship pedigree, understands the amount of work that it takes to get there, graduated from your college so they have already have that commitment and level of pride based on this being where their legacy was built and they want to help these kids build their own, it's a great thing," CCGA athletic director Zack Rogers noted. "Thrilled to see Hayley get her first chance as a college coach be here."

Already, Dickerson is ready for even more with the Mariners. Coastal Georgia, again nearing 40 wins last season and going 21-8 in Sun Conference play, has become a constant fixture in the NAIA National Tournament and a perineal championship contender. The Mariners, under Minick's guidance, have become one of the most consistent and most successful softball programs in the nation. It's a storied tradition Dickerson knows well. She is eager to work towards the next chapter in that history.  
 
"I'm excited to see how far we can go," Dickerson nodded. "I'm really excited to make it to the Sun Conference tournament, make it to regionals and I am really hoping we make it to the World Series this year. I feel like this Is the year."
 
The combination of Minick and Dickerson have already won a lot of games at Coastal Georgia, 129 to be exact, including 115 over three complete seasons. A continuation is coming.
 
"It's going to be different working beside him instead of playing for him, but I think It's going to be a lot of fun," Dickerson smiled. "I feel like we have the same coaching styles and it's going to be fun."
 
Minick has mentored Dickerson for years, both as a player and now as a coach. There is fulfillment, for the long-time leader of Coastal Georgia, entering his 14^th year, in watching one of his former standouts join his side. As Dickerson has already proven, she has a lot to offer. The stage is set for an encore performance.
 
"We've had a successful program. Watch the things we do, add the things that you think can help make us better. Communicate with me. Just be your own self," Minick concluded. "Get the things that you like that I do, the things that you would rather do different, put all of that in your head and one day I think she will be a great coach. She really communicates well with the players. They really seem to like her a lot, already."
 
Dickerson is back at Coastal Georgia. A legacy of leadership follows.