Lookout Valley's high school softball program expects a smooth transition as assistant coach Eric Johnson succeeds David Dinger, who resigned from the head coaching position. The two made the announcement to the team Wednesday.
Johnson is a former baseball assistant under Dinger and has also spent time as Lookout Valley's middle school baseball coach. He has been an assistant in softball under Dinger two of the past three years.
David Dinger coaches his daughter Katie during a high school softball game at Lookout Valley in March 2017. Katie is graduating this year and will continue her playing career at Lee University, and that is part of the reason Dinger resigned as head coach of the Lady Yellow Jackets."I think he's one of the Chattanooga-area's best coaches," Johnson said of Dinger. "I feel fortunate I had the opportunity to learn from him, and I want to take the next step."
Dinger has spent most of his springs at Lookout Valley coaching baseball. His interest in softball came about because of his daughter, Katie, who graduates this year and will play at Lee University starting next season.
"A big part of it was wanting to get to always spend that time with my daughter," said Dinger, who coached the Lady Yellow Jackets the past four years after coaching the middle school team the three years before that, with Lookout Valley winning the league championship the third year.
"And also I enjoyed coaching her friends. As kids she played little league with all of them. I've seen them kind of grow up. I've coached some of them seven years; some longer than that. It's been a special group of young ladies to work with."
Dinger will have plenty to concentrate on as he moves back into the football head coaching position.
Johnson said he's ready for his new challenge and thinks he's ready to adjust to softball's faster pace compared to baseball.
"When we talked to the girls I told them, 'You all have been given a gift to have played softball for one of the best softball coaches around,'" Johnson said. "The work he put in on the facilities, the upkeep, was amazing. He wasn't just interested in coaching the game. He showed an interest in them as individuals.
"What we have to do now is take the foundation he's laid and build on it."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.