OVIEDO, Fla. - Karen Thompson's first responsibility when she arrives at the Oviedo baseball field is to ensure the dirt and turf are in immaculate shape. But her day doesn't end after everything is ready to go.
- Thompson has coached baseball for more than 15 years
- Came to Oviedo baseball four years ago
- Coached son Ben during his time with the team
“Every now and then, I hear a comment, or my parents will be in the stands and they’ll hear a comment about, 'I think that’s a lady coach,' and yes, yes it is,” she said.
The Lions believe she may be the only woman assistant baseball skipper in Central Florida. She coached her son Ben and his friends in little league for more than a decade, and frequently helped out with the program. So when Jason Foss took over as head coach four years ago, he knew she’d be perfect for his staff.
“It has nothing to do with her being male or female," he said. "It’s all about the process in which we do it here."
Naturally, there were going to be doubters. Instead of paying attention, she just approaches the job with normalcy.
“Someone said to me, 'how are you going to coach as a lady?' And I said, I assume the same way you coach as a man. You coach as a coach,” she said.
Her style balances with Foss' perfectly. While he may take a more critical approach, he says Thompson can provide the other necessary coaching qualities that help develop players.
“She can be demanding," he said. "But then she can go put her arm around one of the players and say, 'hey guys, I know you had a bad day, but it will be ok.'”
As a former softball star at Princeton, she learned to be tough and persevere through people saying "no." But having been surrounded by baseball since birth, growing up with three brothers entrenched in the game, she knew coaching in this sport would be her calling. Now, she's living her dream.
“If you find something that you really, really love to do, then forget about the assumed impediments," she said. "And you never know, you might end up exactly where you want to be, doing what you love, and enjoy the heck out of it.”