FAYETTEVILLE — One month ago, Arkansas softball coach Courtney Deifel gave birth to her second child, a 10-pound, 13-ounce, 23-inch boy named Walt.
The scheduled cesarean section delivery came on the second day of the Razorbacks’ fall practice season. A day earlier, Deifel had been on the field coaching the team’s first practice.
“She’s a trooper; a tough lady,” said Matt Meuchel, a second-year assistant coach for Deifel who previously was a head coach at Nevada. “She was on the road traveling and recruiting late into August, right up to the window of where she could travel. She was at practice in full capacity the day before she gave birth and really had no sort of limitations in what she can do and couldn’t do.”
Because Deifel was so active so late into her pregnancy, it came as little surprise to her assistant coaches when she resurfaced at Bogle Park less than a week after her son was born.
“It blows my mind because you cannot keep her away from the field,” said assistant coach Yolanda McRae, who is in her fourth season working with Deifel, dating to their time at Maryland in 2014. “It’s funny because it is not like her family gets shorted by any means; (oldest son) Trip is here all the time and (husband) Jeff is around a lot, but she loves this program and she’s so dedicated. She doesn’t skip a beat.
“It’s just pretty amazing that five days after (the delivery) we have a clinic here and we don’t really need her here, but she comes just to show her face for five or 10 minutes. It just shows her dedication to the program and how committed she is to making sure things are running smoothly. It’s an homage to who she is and how she is as a leader, and just her commitment to the university.”
Her assistant coaches say Deifel has been hard to keep away from work in the weeks since her delivery. And, while they say they could have handled things for a sustained time in order for her to rest, they are appreciative of her willingness to serve the team.
“It’s extremely important to have the head coach at practice; it’s her vision and she’s the leader,” McRae said. “Ultimately, we are the hands and feet of her vision.
“She’s limited physically, but when it comes to her eyes and ears, she’s not limited.”
This is the second time Deifel has had a fall practice that included the birth of a son. Her oldest was born in September 2015, not long after she was hired by the Razorbacks. She didn’t take off long that time, either.
The unfortunate reality for Division I head coaches — male or female, but especially for mothers — is that there is not really an ideal time to take an extended leave after the birth of a child. The demands of the job require your attention nearly 365 days per year.
It is difficult to create a winning culture without that kind of work ethic. Deifel and her assistants likely know this as well as anyone, given how they have turned around the Razorbacks’ program.
Deifel inherited a team that was 1-23 in SEC play the year before she arrived, and the Razorbacks went 1-23 in the SEC her first year, too.
But Arkansas is coming off a potential breakthrough season earlier this year when it advanced to the NCAA Tournament and went toe-to-toe with defending — and eventual repeat — national champion Oklahoma during an elimination game at the Sooners’ home regional.
Deifel’s second team finished 31-24 last season and won seven SEC games, which may not sound like much, but it equaled the combined number of conference games the program won between 2014 and 2016. Consider, too, that the SEC sent all 13 of its teams (Vanderbilt doesn’t play softball) to the NCAA Tournament.
Three teams from the SEC went to the Women’s College World Series. Florida finished national runner-up to Oklahoma.
The Razorbacks are attempting to keep up that momentum this fall with a challenging exhibition schedule that includes two games against Oklahoma State on Friday at Bogle Park. The first game begins at 4 p.m.
Arkansas also is scheduled to play a doubleheader at Oklahoma on Oct. 29. The results won’t count toward any postseason eligibility in 2018, but wins could be a springboard to a strong spring.
Assistants said they hope to learn a lot about the team in the games. They already have learned a lot about their head coach this fall.
“There’s nothing else to say about it than she’s just tough,” Meuchel said.