Bryce Clemons is accustomed to the ‘winning’ way.
Now he attempts to bring that ‘way’ or culture to the Shawnee High School softball program.
For the past four years, Clemons has served as the assistant coach under Andy Powell in extremely successful Dale Lady Pirate fast-pitch and slow-pitch softball programs.
“Bryce is a very consistent person with a strong sense of direction our girls deserve,” said Shawnee Director of Athletics Dax Leone. “He’s been around winning programs his entire career. We have had some really good players over the years and I believe he knows how to cultivate a strong team with hard work and dedication.”
Clemons is ready for the challenge because of his experiences to this point.
“I’ve been able to learn a lot about the game of softball under Andy. His culture has been established for 17 years. The kids know what are expected of him and that’s what we’ve got to have here,” said Clemons. “Softball is up-tempo and quicker than baseball which is why it seems to be so popular. In coaching girls, it seems like they want to listen to you, especially when you’re a younger guy.”
Before spending the past four seasons at Dale, Clemons was at Jones High School where he was head softball coach for three years and assistant baseball coach for four.
A 2012 graduate of Leedey High School, Clemons played two years of collegiate baseball at Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa and two more at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant in which he graduated in 2016.
Clemons will try to turn around a Shawnee program which finished just 1-23 last fall.
“The No. 1 thing is that we will focus on fundamentals,” Clemons said. “The game of fast pitch is heavily dependent on a pitcher. We will work and try to develop someone who can help us out this year.”
Clemons understands that help is on the way in the junior high ranks.
“We’re supposed to have a couple of girls coming from Pleasant Grove. I do know of a pretty good eighth grader who will help us out next year (in 2025) as a freshman,” said Clemons.
In order for success to kick in, motivation and effort will have to take place, according to Clemons.
“We’re going to have to give effort and want to and have the consistency of pushing them every day,” Clemons said. “It’s easy to get in a rut of losing. We’re wanting to push them and we’re wanting them to get out that rut.”
Along with coaching fast pitch, Clemons will embark on a new venture for Shawnee athletics. For the first time, SHS will field a slow-pitch softball team in the spring of 2025 as he will serve as head coach there as well.
“We’ve been looking into this (slow pitch) since we’ve gotten here and Bryce was very adamant about the importance of development, in which slow pitch will provide,” Leone said. “It gives our girls more field time and not such a long layoff between fast pitch (seasons).”
Bryce’s wife is Jessica and they have a daughter Bexley and a son Case.
