Monterey — Monterey High School head softball coach Kayla Shirley said the past three seasons with the Lady Wolves has been just as much as a learning experience for her as it has been for the players.

Shirley came to Monterey as an assistant coach in 2012 before moving up as the head coach in 2013. In two short years, Sterling propelled her way to become the All-Metro Coach of the Year,

But Shirley credits her players more than herself.

“I’m very grateful for the time I had at Monterey, and I’m thankful for the girls. It is really all about them,” Shirley said. “They had a great season, and they deserved it.

“They taught me a lot, and hopefully I taught them a little bit as well.”

Monterey finished the season 18-11 with a trip to the state tournament in Sulpher, La., and Shirley said they reached thst goal because of their determination.

“We had four seniors this year that were all really tough players and all had their mind set that they wanted to do something this year,” Shirley said. “Soon as the (2013) season ended, they started getting ready because they knew this was it. We had that experience as well. We knew going into it we had a good team.”

Shirley said her team gained confidence on a trip to Anacoco, La., in which they participated in a competitive tournament.

“We lost a couple games in a row and then went to a tournament in Anacoco and beat some good teams,” Shirley said. “We went 3-for-3 and beat a 4A team and a Class B team that made it to the state tournament last year. We realized then we could beat anybody, we just have to play, we can’t take a break against anybody.”

The confidence booster was just what the Lady Wolves and Shirley needed as the team headed to the state tournament with one thing on their mind, making a name for themselves.

Shirley said assistant coach Byron Gray, who is also pastor at Lismore Baptist Church, was a big part of pumping the team up to reach their goal at state,

“(Gray) tied it into the Bible a little, he talked about the Israelites going into the Promised Land and for us going to state, we have to cross the big bridge going into Sulpher, so we talked about crossing that bridge into the Promised Land and making it count,” Shirley said.

The Lady Wolves did make it count, making it to the semifinals against Quitman High School before losing 6-5.

Shirley said she was proud of her team for proving they were worthy of the trip to Sulpher, and she couldn’t ask more from their effort.

Despite a memorable season with Monterey, Shirley said she would be moving on in her coaching career next year as she heads back to her hometown to coach at Franklin Parish High School.