Kyle Parmley
Vestavia Hills Softball
Jordan Reising and Taylor Coe hold the Vestavia Hills softball team’s regional qualifier trophy.
Taylor Coe and Jordan Reising had different careers in the Vestavia Hills High School softball program, but each will leave a positive mark on the program.
Coe was a four-year starter for the Lady Rebels, growing into a great center fielder and solid hitter near the top of the batting order.
“Taylor is very, very strong in the outfield,” Vestavia Hills head coach Lissa Walker said. “She reads the ball well, has a strong arm, and leads the outfield really well.”
Coe’s left-handed bat struggled at the beginning of her senior season, but she rounded into form as her final year wound down.
“She puts a lot of pressure on herself. She wants to be the best and do her best,” Walker said.
Reising’s efforts put her on the varsity squad for the tail end of her junior year and the entirety of this past season.
“Jordan just works hard,” Walker said. “She’s one of those type kids that she’s going to do everything she can, and she’s one of those type kids that she’s going to listen to everything that’s being said to her and, to the best of her ability, do it right.”
Each player pointed to Senior Night as one of their favorite moments in their softball careers, but not because of the ceremony honoring them before the game. Coe and Reising were recognized in the middle of the diamond, but had the same thoughts racing through their heads.
“I just wanted to beat Spain Park,” said Reising, the first baseman for the Lady Rebels. “That was it. I didn’t really care what was going on. I just wanted to beat Spain Park.”
The Lady Rebels had not beaten Spain Park since the two girls had been at Vestavia Hills, but RaeAnn King’s two-run home run lifted them over that hump.
“She’s so good and it made me so happy, because it was Senior Night. It was awesome,” Reising said.
“That was one of the sharpest games we’ve had,” said Coe, who told the student newspaper at the high school that the game was her favorite softball moment in her career.
However, the Lady Rebels didn’t come down off the high of winning the game quickly enough, and lost to Hueytown the next night.
“We were so excited about that win that we forgot that we have to play this game,” Walker said. “But we needed it, as a program.”
Each was asked to describe her own game.
Coe said, “Personally, I think I have strong leadership characteristics. I’m vocal and I try not to show my feelings on my sleeve when I’m down in a slump.”
Reising said she tries to keep her teammates happy, because she doesn’t feel that being angry is the correct way to play the game of softball.
Walker agreed with both of their assessments.
“Taylor’s just solid all the way around,” Walker said. “(She) has definitely has become a vocal leader this year, which has been really good for us.
“They’re kind of different though, because Jordan is the quieter of the two. Taylor’s more vocal, but they both have good leadership qualities that have been a plus for us.”
Being the only two seniors, Coe and Reising feel that the team can only be better in the coming years. They have done their part in pulling the program to new heights, citing the team chemistry this season as the best they’ve witnessed in their high school years.
They both want to be remembered in one specific way, if a person were describing the pair in the years following their departure.
“I would want somebody to say that we were both good teammates, rather than, ‘Oh my gosh she was good at this and this and this.’ I would rather her say they were good teammates,” Reising said.
Neither is playing softball in college, only by choice. They have helped lay the groundwork for successful Lady Rebel squads in future seasons.
