Sale Creek coach Clifford Kirk has hip surgery after 'crazy accident' in game

Sale Creek softball coach Clifford Kirk during their prep softball game at Whitwell High School on Wednesday, April 26, 2017, in Whitwell, Tenn.
Sale Creek softball coach Clifford Kirk during their prep softball game at Whitwell High School on Wednesday, April 26, 2017, in Whitwell, Tenn.

Sale Creek softball coach Clifford Kirk suffered an injury Saturday during a game and had surgery Monday and is recovering at a local hospital.

"He seems to be doing good," Sale Creek assistant coach Kendra Mooneyham said of Kirk, who in his 32 years as a head coach has guided 10 teams to Class AAA state titles, eight at Soddy-Daisy before being hired at Class A Sale Creek in October 2012. "Everything went good.

"We all played the waiting game at Sale Creek today. We got a text from one of the parents who's been keeping everybody informed. She said when she talked to him he said he was thirsty and hungry, which I guess is a good sign. It was a big sigh of relief."

The Lady Panthers were competing in Meigs County's Lady Tiger Classic tournament at Athens Regional Park over the weekend. They had gone 2-1 in pool play, which started Friday, and Saturday were playing Sequoyah in their first game in single-elimination.

In what Mooneyham called a "crazy accident" one of the Lady Panthers collided with Kirk, knocking him to the ground near the third-base coaching box. He complained of hip pain after the fall and remained lying down until an ambulance arrived.

Mooneyham said she was told he broke his hip in four places.

"At first all the girls came running over there asking, 'Is he talking? Is he OK?'" Mooneyham said. "He kept saying his hip was hurting. They said, 'Thank goodness it wasn't a heart attack.'"

Mooneyham said there were some complications Sunday that stemmed from the medicines Kirk was taking regularly conflicting with the medicine he was being given at the hospital. But she said the situation improved and he was able to go through with the surgery Monday morning.

Mooneyham, who has been an assistant with Kirk since his first season at Sale Creek in 2013, will take over the head coaching duty for now. Her previous head coaching experience came in May 2013 when Kirk collapsed on the field during the Region 3-A championship game and she directed the last two games that year. Eric Sullivan will remain an assistant.

Although Kirk seems to be finished coaching for at least this season, the Lady Panthers are off to a 5-1 start, so don't expect him to take this lying down. Sitting down? Maybe.

"He'll be back out there," Mooneyham said. "As soon as he can get a wheelchair, he's going to get there one way or another. Our principal, Tobin Davidson, said this is Clifford's team, it's been Clifford's team, and it's still Clifford's team. I'm sure I'll be getting some instructions to follow."

Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.

Upcoming Events