Travis Hale is an 18-year veteran in coaching summer softball, but along the way he had aspirations of becoming a high school head coach. He just never imagined the school would be longtime power Soddy-Daisy.
Athletic director Jared Hensley informed Hale on Wednesday night that he was being hired to succeed Wes Skiles, who resigned after last season to spend more time with his family.
"My expectation was to be a head coach," Hale said. "I never really dreamed it would be at Soddy-Daisy High School. Everything fell in line."
Hale spent five years as an assistant coach to Jayme Putman at Hixson. Last year he became head coach at Loftis Middle, a fall job he plans to retain, and served as Skiles' assistant with the Lady Trojans.
Hensley said "a handful" of people were spoken with about the job that Skiles held for four years. He won 20-plus games in each, guiding the 2014 team to a third-place finish in the Class AAA state tournament. He followed Clifford Kirk, who from 1990 until Skiles took over the program won eight state championships at Soddy-Daisy.
"Everything kind of led back to Travis," Hensley said. "I think he'll do a great job for us, as far as continuing the tradition put in place by Clifford and Wes both. I think Travis's style is all business. He'll be a good fit for the direction we have in place. We're excited for this opportunity for the girls and the softball program, and he is, too."
Hale had ties to the program as a parent before working from the dugout and first-base coaching box last season.
His daughter, Brooke, who now plays at West Virginia State, was a freshman on the 2012 team when Soddy-Daisy won a state title in Kirk's final season there.
"The fan base up there is great," Hale said. "I've never seen anything like it. No matter how far away we played, they were there supporting us. The support up there at that school is outstanding."
Hale also got to see last year the jump in the level of league play from Hixson competing in District 6-AA to Soddy-Daisy competing a classification higher in District 5 against Ooltewah, East Hamilton, Walker Valley and others. Only two each year move on to region play.
"That's what I like," Hale said. "Competition only makes you better. I'm ready to step into it and get after it."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him at twitter.com/KelleySmiddie.