Dan Fleser
Karen Weekly thought of her coaching in the context of a question: If my career ended today, would I be fulfilled with how I had gone about my work?
The answer some five years later was evident Friday night on Lee Stadium’s infield. Tennessee’s softball coach was among her players after the Lady Vols clinched a share of a second consecutive SEC championship with an 8-3 victory over Kentucky. The achievement was made whole later that evening by second-place Texas A&M’s loss to Florida. The crown was theirs alone.
Weekly bobbed up and down, her arms moving in rhythm before thrusting overhead into the evening sky. She was performing her version of the “griddy.” The dance move, which was popularized on TikTok, was taught to her by the players in conjunction with last year’s championship.
Cutting the rug – or in this instance the dirt – served Weekly’s conclusion that she would be a better coach if she celebrated more often. And this was the sort of occasion she had in mind. She was dancing for joy over a program first: winning back-to-back conference titles.
“We’re going to have fun,” she said. “If we’re not out here having fun then really what’s the point. That helped me a lot.”
It was more in keeping with Weekly’s character that something so spontaneous was born from considerable reading and thinking about what she could do better. She made a point earlier this week to say that the added layer of levity hasn’t altered her foundational beliefs. They comprise the bedrock beneath a career that began at Chattanooga and has now reached 28 seasons and 1,303 victories. She shared 23 of those seasons as co-head coach with her husband, Ralph, before he retired following the 2021 season.
“I haven’t changed who I am at my core,” Weekly said. “I’m still all about we’re going to do things the right way and we’re going to pay attention to details and I’m pretty intense.”
If there’s been any sort of revelation for her, it’s how her new act has been received by the players.
“I’ve found that instead of them thinking I was satisfied and them not working as hard, they actually worked harder,” she said. “The more we celebrated, the more they wanted the celebrations.”
Center fielder Kiki Milloy confirmed as much when asked last week if she had stories about Weekly. Such a question typically is searching for a funny anecdote or maybe a peculiarity. Milloy eventually referenced Weekly’s first dance move last season, but more so in terms of gratitude than amusement.
“She enjoys being with us; she enjoys celebrating with us,” Milloy said. “That’s all you can ask for in a coach.”
Milloy has been struggling to relocate her wayward power stroke during conference play. Weekly has channeled some of her timeless values and played the role of supportive coach during the search, lauding Milloy for maintaining her usual level of leadership.
The graduate student smashed a three-run homer Friday night to give Tennessee the lead for good. It was her first homer in conference play since the opening series. She was celebrating before reaching second base.
Milloy led off Saturday’s game with another homer. Taylor Pannell punctuated the 8-7 victory with a walk-off home run in the eighth. It was her third homer of the series.
It all was something for this version of Weekly to be “griddy” about.
Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri, who has covered University of Tennessee athletics since 1988. He is a member of the Tennessee Sportswriters and the U.S. Basketball Writers Halls of Fame. He can be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com.