Inductees

Some folks don’t know what they want to do in life until after they reach college age. Others try to map it out even in high school.

For Jill Angell, she found her calling in life well before then.

“When I was in the fifth grade, I had a P.E. teacher (Carol Gross) I idolized” Angell said. “I loved softball and that’s when I said, ‘This is what I want to do.’”

Actually, Angell soldiered right on with that dream, eventually molding the Centralia High School softball team into a dominate force, and it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Angell with the Class of 2018.

Her induction is part of the Baseball Luncheon presented by the Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Company, set for 11 a.m. Thursday, May 24 at the University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center. (For tickets, call 417-889-3100, and see the lineup below.)

Angell coached Centralia’s varsity for 19 seasons, from 1999 to 2017, and what a run it was.

Her teams were a combined 355-123-1 and, under her watch, the Lady Panthers won four state championships (2011, 2012, 2013, 2016), with the 2016 team finishing a program-best 29-1. Along the way, her teams also reached five other state quarterfinals, won 11 district titles and eight conference championships. And to think that the program had won only six games in the season prior to her arrival.

This from a coach who bided her time even to reach high school varsity, first spending 1983 to 1989 coaching at Centralia Middle School and then stepping away from teaching altogether to hold the thankless but inspiring role of stay-at-home mom in order to raise her daughter and two sons. She returned to the diamond in 1994 and, five years later, was asked to lead the varsity.

“I remember being really, really nervous because I was thinking, ‘I don’t know how they’re going to respond to me,’” Angell said. “The good thing was I wasn’t a 22-year-old in my first year.”

Another advantage? Angell had played softball as a teenager before graduating from Meadville High School in 1979. She then went on to the University of Central Missouri and set herself up to be a physical education teacher and coach.

Given she had coached Centralia Middle School teams, it was a smooth transition to the varsity because she knew the players well. But she also raised the bar.

“I used to say, ‘I don’t do lazy,’” Angell said. “If I looked around and you were just standing, I was going to be upset.”

Thus, the concrete-hard foundation to Centralia’s program was being poured.

“Our kids were fundamentally sound,” Angell said. “We may not have been the best, but we were sound.”

Her first varsity team was 14-9. Centralia then reached the quarterfinals in 2003, falling just one win shy of reaching the Final Four. However, the seeds were planted in 2003 when Angell took the team to nearby Columbia to watch the state tournament.

“One of the girls, a sophomore, said, ‘They aren’t any better than we are,’” Angell recalled. “I said, ‘That’s what I want you to think.’”

Centralia reached the state quarterfinals in 2005 and 2008 but fell short again, and 2010 looked promising. Yet it lost in districts.

“That was the motivation we needed,” Angell said. “The kids were like, ‘This is not going to happen again.’ It was a game-changer.’”

The 2011 season, thus, kick-started Centralia on its way to the first of three consecutive state championships. How determined were the Lady Panthers? Just know that they were 82-6-1 in those three seasons, never losing more than two games a season.

In 2016, Centralia found magic again, with Angell proving to be a bit of a riverboat gambler.

In the semifinals and leading 4-2, the Lady Panthers saw Lathrop put two in scoring position with one out. That’s when Angell directed her pitcher to “pitch around” the opponent’s best player, essentially issuing a walk and, gulp, loading the bases.

“I remember a coach telling me, ‘Don’t let their best player beat you,’” Angell said.

The game ended on the next pitch, as Centralia turned a double play on a comebacker to the pitcher, who threw home for a force out and then saw the throw from the catcher disappear into their first baseman’s glove.

To Angell, it was all made possible thanks to dedicated players, supportive parents, the administration and especially assistant coaches. She also had the support of husband Jed, daughter Jayci and sons Jardyn and Jensyn.

“Players put it all on the line,” Angell said. “They were willing to try something different. That’s what made them successful.”

And they made Angell and Centralia a success story.