By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

Sand Rock 2006 graduate and 2016 Cherokee County Sports Hall of Fame inductee Taylor Burt could be considered the Nick Saban of high school softball coaches in Alabama.

Burt recently led Class 7A Hewitt-Trussville to its fifth state title in the last eight years. The Huskies were also state runner-up in 2022.

But the Huskies’ latest title may have been their most impressive.

They had to battle their way out of the losers bracket in the state tournament, where they suffered a 15-3 loss to nationally-ranked Thompson. The Huskies faced the Warriors again with the title on the line, battled the rain and defeated them in back-to-back games 2-1 and 11-0.

One of the Huskies’ top players Burt coached this season was Cory Goguts. An Ole Miss signee, Goguts was recently named the Alabama Sports Writers Association Miss Softball, as well as the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year.

Last season Goguts batted .618, including a state-best 29 home runs with 91 RBIs, 14 doubles, 11 triples and 109 runs scored. She is the second Miss Softball from Hewitt-Trussville whom Burt has coached. Kenleigh Cahalan won the award in 2022.

Burt was also named the ASWA’s Class 7A Coach of the Year.

I had the opportunity to talk with Taylor this week. She discussed coaching this past season, her Sand Rock roots, and a few other things in the Q&A below.

Q: Hewitt-Trussville just won its fifth softball state championship in the last eight years, and you were also runner-up in 2022. You could be considered the Nick Saban of high school softball. What do you feel like has been the key to your success?

A: “I don’t know about that (Nick Saban comparison). I think there are a lot of people who have won a lot. I think it’s just consistency. When I first got here in the fall of 2017, they had a lot of different coaches, four or five different coaches in the last six years. I think the biggest thing was just to lay a foundation of consistency. Those girls were hungry. They wanted to work hard. We got after it in the weight room, first and foremost, in the offseason. We just kind of built a foundation of consistency – off-season work, in-season work – and the girls really bought into it. They wanted to be successful, from that very first group on.

“Those first couple of teams are really why we’re seeing success now. They put it out there that this is how we want to do things and these are how things need to be done. Everybody else has just followed suit after that. They’re like ‘That’s what the expectation is.’ I kind of hate using the word standard, but that’s kind of what the standard is. You get out here and you give it your best and you do everything you can, not only in May to be really good, but in August. What you’re doing in August and September is building blocks for what you’re able to do in the spring. Building a foundation of hard work and selflessness it’s hard being successful in a world full of selfish things. Our biggest thing is putting the team before ourselves. Our girls have really done a phenomenal job of that. They really don’t care who’s doing it as long as it’s getting done.”

Q: I know each state title that you’ve won is special, but your most recent against Thompson was quite impressive. You battled back from the losers bracket with back-to-back wins over them. I saw where you were quoted as saying it was your craziest championship. How were your girls able to fight back like they did?

A: “The circumstances were absolutely insane (with rain). We did our best to try and finish it that (Thursday) night. Overall, the season as a whole felt very much up and down in a lot of ways. We’d have some moments of some really, really positive things, and then we’d have some moments where we really didn’t look that great. That continued through our postseason. Even the day before the finals, Thompson put a whipping on us. They beat us 15-3. It was one of the ugliest games I think I’ve ever seen us play. I was so proud of their ability to take a butt chewing and bounce back from that, turn around and win another elimination game right after that.

“We had four games that had rain delays in there – not just 30 minutes, but an hour-and-a-half, two-hour rain delays. We had to constantly go and come back, but they handled that really well. Our postseason format is survival of the fittest. I hate that it’s like that, but whatever team is mentally tough and can handle it is going to be able to have success. They showed they were able to do that.

“Coming back from the loss on Wednesday to winning 3 2/3 ball games on Thursday, I was just really impressed with their resiliency and their willingness to do the hard things and not give up.

“We came into Thursday morning saying ‘We’re not looking at the big picture. We’re going one pitch, one out, one at-bat at a time so that it’s not overwhelming.’ They did a great job of that. We got to the championship series and I just kind of looked at them. I was like ‘We’re here. Let’s just go get it. Let’s go do it.’ They were like ‘Let’s go do it.’ They came out swinging.”

Q: Cory Goguts just won the Alabama Sports Writers Association Miss Softball last weekend. It’s the second Miss Softball you’ve coached at Hewitt-Trussville since 2022 (Kenleigh Cahalan is the other). How special of a player is Cory?

A: “She’s joining some company that sits in rare air. Kenleigh is currently playing professional ball in the AUSL (Athletes Unlimited Softball League) which is an incredible and awesome opportunity.

“Cory came here from Florida. A lot of people don’t know Cory’s back story. She overcame a lot of change in her life as a sophomore. She uprooted her life and moved from Florida and had a big adjustment period. She’s just done a wonderful job of buying into the culture here, but also working not only to be a better softball player, but a better student, a better teammate. Anybody who’s involved in our program knows the work she’s put in on and off the field to do the right things. All of those things have overflowed to success on the field. She’s an incredible hitter. Her defense gets overlooked a lot. She made an incredible diving play in the fifth inning of our state championship series that probably saved the game for us. She’s just an all-around talent. I’m so proud of the way that she’s able to play, but I’m more proud of the way that she’s grown off the field and who she’s becoming as a person. She has bought into that and has worked hard in that area.

“I’m going to miss watching the ball go 275 feet. She hit more extra-base hits than she did singles. She had more home runs than she did singles. She’s just so fun to watch. She’s just one of those kids. She’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime generational talent. You don’t get to see them a whole lot. I’ve been very fortunate I’ve got to see and coach a couple of them.”

Q: I’m sure you’re already planning how to defend your state title, but have you been able to take a break before you get back into the grind again?

A: “I spent my (Tuesday) morning working with some of my fifth and sixth graders. We did a little kids camp about four days after the state championship. Winning is awesome, but there’s a lot that comes with it too. You’ve got to do a lot of planning and a lot of other stuff. I’m hoping July is my month.

“We enjoyed it (state championship). I’ve always been a let’s turn the page and get ready for the next one, but I think I really, really enjoyed soaking this one in because not many people thought we were capable of doing it. We probably didn’t have any business doing it. We played a little above our heads at times, but that’s what made it so enjoyable. There will never be anything like the first one, but this is definitely tops of the most rewarding one. It’s been fun. We’re trying to give the girls a little break, but I’m sure we’ll be back seeing each other every day soon. It kind of doesn’t stop.”

Q: I want to take you back to when you were a player at Sand Rock High School. You played for a competitive coach in Lisa Bates, as well as your parents. How much of an impact have they had on your career?

A: “I was so fortunate to play for her (Bates), play for my mom (Lisa Burt), and play for my dad (Brad Burt). Not many people get that opportunity. Her (Bates) first year there was my seventh grade year. She taught us how to do things the right way, on and off the court in basketball and volleyball. She taught us there was a right way and a wrong way to do things, and that giving 100 percent was the only way. I learned a lot from her as a player, but I learned as much from her that I took into my coaching career. I learned from her preparation wins. If you don’t prepare as the leader of your group, then you can’t expect your group to perform. She did more film watching, traveling to scout, and went above and beyond to make sure we were prepared and our game plan was prepared than any coach I ever had. That was such a valuable lesson to learn at such an early age. Coaching and practicing goes into it, but what you do prior to that to prepare your brain, to prepare your kids, makes and breaks you in a lot of areas. She does a phenomenal job of teaching us how to be good people. I know she’d tell you as much as anything I’m probably a little crazy. I probably drove her a little crazy, but I took a lot of lessons from her, and from her parents.

“Being a good human and how you care for people really matters. I see it today. As much as you want to preach about being a good coach, that side of things goes far beyond any championship you can win. I learned that from her. I learned that from my mama. I watched my mama every day go above and beyond being a good human and doing things that were not her job. They were both really good mentors and good people to the people who are following them.

“My dad was my softball coach growing up, even in high school. My mom was my cheerleading coach. I was fortunate to have all of them. The greatest thing I’ve learned from them is not necessarily Xs and Os. It’s how you treat people matters. The things you do behind the scenes matter. You may not always get rewarded for them. You may not always get a pat on the back. One of the words we use a lot is servant leadership, and I learned servant leadership through them.

“I’ve had a lot of good influences in my life. Even in college I played for some good coaches who taught me how to work hard, but as far as influences in my life, those three definitely were the foundation and made me want to be the coach that they were.”

Q: You could’ve easily gone the route of coaching basketball or volleyball instead of softball. What is so special to you about coaching softball?

A: “I think overall, to be honest, it was fate. I had a job opportunity that came. I took it. I had learned a lot about it. I used to play it at the collegiate level (at Gadsden State and Auburn Montgomery). I think it was just the direction God wanted me to go into. He set me on a path to be where I am right now, whether by choice or by where I’m supposed to be. I think that’s mainly what it is.”

Q: Somewhere out there is a future Taylor Burt. With all the knowledge and experience you’ve had throughout your career, what advice would you give them to help them be where you are right now?

A: “I think the main thing is patience. I would love to say my path has been straight and narrow, but it has been very curvy and bumpy. I had to learn a lot as a young coach.

“If I could go back, one of the things I probably would’ve done is find a program where I could be an assistant at and grow and learn, find somebody who is willing to help you develop into that kind of person and that kind of coach. I kind of had to learn on the fly a lot when it came to a lot of things.

“Thankfully I had good coaches in my life who taught me the basics and the foundation of things. I would say go find people that you love and you trust who can help lead you in the right direction, be willing to give a lot, and not be so concerned with taking. Invest in people, especially if you’re coaching girls. They don’t really care what you know if they think you care. Care about the person first, then coach the person. You’d be surprised what people are willing to do to go be successful. I wish there was a set thing where you say go do this and go do that, but it’s go where your heart is and work as hard as you possibly can and invest in the people around you. If you invest in the people around you, then they’ll invest back in you and good things will come.

“I have seven assistant coaches. Coming from Sand Rock, there are not a lot of places that have that support and have those kinds of people around them. A lot of them are doing it all on their own, and I admire that. I don’t know if I could ever go back to it because I know how awesome it is to have such wonderful people around.

“We’ve had a staff that’s been together for the most part since my first year here. We’ve been fortunate to add from the first year on. There’s no way you can be successful at this level and do what we do in the offseason without everybody being on the same page. They take my crazy ideas and run with them. They love me for it and tell me when I need to switch some things up. We’ll fight for each other at the end of the day. Loyalty means a lot around here, and I’m thankful to be put in a place where I have that.

“I love home. I love being home. I miss being home, but I’m also thankful for being here too.”