When Lesa Boneé, head coach of the softball team, was growing up, there weren’t a lot of opportunities for women in sports, but she knew she wanted to coach.
“I majored in education in college so I could teach,” said Boneé. “I wanted to teach because I wanted to coach.”
Boneé knew what she wanted to do ever since she was a kid, and she loved the University of California, Los Angeles’ softball team. At the time, a lot of places played slow-pitch softball, and fortunately enough, where she grew up in Tennessee, it was all fast-pitch, so she started playing fast-pitch as early as third grade. She continued to develop in softball as she played throughout high school and college.
After graduating from college, she started teaching and coaching at the high school level and playing travel ball, but her goal was to coach at a higher level.
“I knew I wanted to get into college coaching, but at that time only high school coaching opportunities were available,” said Boneé.
She kept looking for opportunities until she got the opportunity to be the head coach of Southern Wesleyan University for three years.
Since her days there, Boneé’s coaching style has evolved over the years.
“I think that I’m doing my best coaching now. We’re leading the team in the right direction of understanding the process of the game and life in general. The loss is not an individual burden; the whole team shares it,” said Boneé.
Boneé’s secret is focusing more on the student athletes and not the sport itself. She believes that at the college level, everyone knows how to throw catch, but getting to know the athletes personally as well as academically is key to their success and to improving the program as a whole.
“I’m spending more time on the athletes. We like to see how they’re doing in school, how’s life in the dorm and what lights their fire, how they want to be motivated. I feel that I have a better connection with them now than I did before,” she said. “I wish I knew this 20 years earlier when I first started.”
Although the softball team is held to high expectations, Boneé is more relaxed when it comes to coaching. Her priorities are better communication and having a good time on the field. She tries to be open-minded because she realizes that every decision is a big decision as it’s impacting the entire team.
“If I’m not growing, then I’m not doing justice for my kids,” said Boneé.
Boneé enjoys inspiring her players. She always tries to do a variety of motivational activities to give her players that extra push.
“We do a little bit of everything. I give little pre-game speeches and I recently started showing motivational videos on the iPad, sometimes on the road to games. I also try to give them a quote everyday at practice, so that they’re not always hearing things from me,” said Boneé.
Giving so much time and effort, Boneé expects her players to show up with the right attitude every day and be ready to play.
“We’re past the basics; we want them to have the right attitude all the way because the real world prioritized attitude no matter what job it is,” said Boneé. “Our goal is always to win the national championship. We always have new faces but we have the same expectations.”
When Boneé is not on the field, she’s in the water, and that’s the main reason why she loves Florida so much. She also enjoys riding her motorcycle.
“I’m either on the water or under the water. I love riding my Jet Ski and boat. My other passion is my motorcycle. I love to just ride,” said Boneé.
As Boneé starts her 13th year at NSU, her philosophy continues to help her cherish every day of life.
“As you get older, your perspective changes. You may think it’s a rough day, but I’d rather have a rough day than not have a day,” said Boneé.
