Ryan Lewis, East Ascension’s head coach the past two seasons, is the new softball coach at Denham Springs High.
Denham Springs High stayed within District 5-5A by selecting a new softball coach.
Ryan Lewis, formerly the East Ascension coach, was announced as the DSHS coach Thursday morning. He takes over from Leslie Marien.
Lewis said he has several reasons for taking the Denham Springs job.
“I think it was a combination of a lot of things,” Lewis said. “I think, first of all, that the school itself academically is a very good school. In addition, the facilities are top-notch in the state, and so is the talent pool that Livingston has as a whole in softball. I thought it was a great opportunity and I didn’t want to pass it up.”
Lewis, who coached East Ascension for three seasons, the last two as head coach after serving as an assistant for one, said there is a quality to be expected from his teams.
“A lot of grit,” he said. “I train hard and I expect my players to play hard. It is an attitude of not giving up. I tell everybody that I want my teams to be respected, and every time we step on that softball field and get down, I want teams to think, ‘Man, I don’t want to play this team again.’ This is the attitude I carry. Like I said, it’s just a grain. They will be a hardworking group. Whatever the talent is, we’re going to work hard, and it’s going to show on the field.”
DSHS football coach and athletic director Brett Beard said toughness was a key factor in hiring Lewis as the school’s coach.
“He took an EA program that didn’t win a couple of years ago (and) had them in the second round (of the playoffs) this year,” Beard said. “You can say that he is a builder. He is very passionate about the game, in love with the game, hardworking. I think it gives us that edge that we’ve been missing and that excites me. He will bring the kind of edginess we need to get back to Denham and be successful in building this program. Softball seems to be in a state where it needs a revamp and some excitement. I think it brings us all that and some noise. I think it brings us everything you want to turn a program around and get it back to Sulfur and get back to a state championship game and ultimately win it.”
“We really started with a big list (of coaching candidates) and reached out to our select to gauge interest from both ends, and if they were, they stayed on the list,” Beard continued. “If they weren’t, they were highly regarded, and we went ahead and whittled that list down to a handful of incredible, incredible coaches. Really, we could have given it to either of them and been in good hands, but it gives us a little bit of edginess that we were looking for.”
Lewis guided the Lady Spartans to playoff appearances in both seasons as head coach as EA defeated Chalmette 9-6 in the opening round of the Division I non-select playoffs this season before foe District 5-5A Live Oak went 12-3. win in the second round.
West Monroe defeated East Ascension 9-1 in the opening round of the playoffs last season.
After coaching against Denham Springs in district play this season, Lewis knows the Lady Jackets have something to build on, naming catcher Makinley Harris, third baseman Hayden Averette and pitcher Allie Vicknair, all seniors next season , as key players in the success of the program.
“Allie is a very, very good pitcher in that circle,” Lewis said. “The younger kids, I don’t really know that well, but those three, when they walk into this building, they’re going to know that they’re going to have a leadership role that they’re going to have to fill to make this thing successful.”
Lewis’ daughter Shelby Lewis, who earned second-team all-district honors as an outfielder as a freshman, will join her father at DSHS. Ryan Lewis is married to Brook Lewis and has another daughter, Layla, and a son, Jagger.
Denham Springs will hold tryouts for returning players Wednesday with freshmen set to try out next Thursday, and Lewis knows what he’s looking for from players during the tryout process.
“Hurt,” he said. “I want kids who want to come every day. It’s the old saying, ‘Put your boots on and let’s go get it.’ I want kids to come out and want to be good and want to succeed. I really feel in my heart, and I’ve said this every time I’ve coached: Every team has to have the same goal, and the kids that are going to be on this field have one goal, and that’s what it’s going to be. to win state championships.”
“We’re going to be disciplined,” Lewis continued. “We will work hard and do the little things well. This is the main focus of my philosophies. If you can do the little things right, you can win a lot of softball games.”
