Dad, Daughter Look Back on Years as Coach, Player

Since the age of 6, Emily Corridon has had her dad as a softball coach. 

Chris Corridon has coached her on all her travel teams growing up and then started assisting the coaching staff at Oakton High her freshman year when his oldest daughter Katelyn also played on the team. 

As the Cougars season winds down with the win-or-go-home AAA Virginia High School League tournament this week, so does the Corridons' time as softball player and coach. 

"Believe me, there have been plenty of times where I've said to him, 'I see way too much of you.' But in reality, I wouldn't want him not being there as my coach," said Emily, the senior center fielder who will attend James Madison University next year. "When I get to college, I think it's really going to hit me. I'm going to miss being away from my family, and I'm going to miss him, and my mom, being so involved."

The Corridons think they have never had too much trouble keeping family dynamics from getting in the way of a typical team atmosphere — an easy balance when your dad is just a big goofball, Emily said. 

"He's not the one that's hard on any of us, and he's not hard on me either," said Emily, who noted the team gave Chris an award for Least Likely to Be in a Bad Mood. "All the guys at work laughed at him because he's the boss there and they were like, 'He's always in a bad mood.' But when he comes to softball, he knows to be the peppy, goofy one."

Perhaps the biggest test of his ability to separate is in his role as third base coach, where calls from him can help determine batting averages, RBI and runs scored totals.

"I try to turn out the dad side when she's up to bat, but you can't help but have a little pride when it's your daughter who wins the game or leads the team," Chris said. "But I tried to not let it get in the way of my judgment for the game. When Katelyn played, she was second in the lineup, which is just the worst. They're the unsung heroes. You're always sacrificing to move the leadoff and your batting average plummets. And there I was giving my kid the signal to sacrifice. But hey, that's the game and she knew that. It was about learning to be a part of the team and playing your role."

Perhaps to the chagrin of the lacrosse-playing youngest Corridon, softball has become a family sport over the years. When springtime rolls around, it's the natural topic of conversation at the dinner table.

"My little sister Jamie is over it," Emily laughed. "She can't stand when softball season comes around because it's all we talk about." 

But lucky for Jamie, the Corridons have a love for all sports. Upon entering the Corridons' home in Oakton, one seldom finds the television not tuned to a competition of some sort — except golf, if the girls have anything to say about it, Chris said. 

Chris and his wife Gwynne signed up their kids for sports when they were young not because they wanted them to grow up to be famous athletes, but because they wanted them to be involved and active. When Chris volunteered as the softball coach for Emily and Katelyn when they were 6 and 8 years old, respectively, he did not imagine it would stretch to the end of their high school careers.

"Yeah, I have a passion for the sport, but it's not why I coach," Chris said. "I coach because the girls are a blast. Our house has always been the meeting area for all the kids, and I'm kinda like the crazy uncle. I've always liked being around the kids, and when I coach I can take on more of a mentor role, give them life lessons and try to teach them something. It's really fun being able to teach these girls who I've known and coached since they were tiny."

Chris' passion for coaching won't graduate with Emily. If the Cougars will have him back, he'd love to return. If not, he will look into coaching 8- or 9-year-olds.

"That doesn't surprise me. If I could, I would love to go back to 12U and have him be my head coach again," Emily said. "We had so much fun with him, which is why we were so good."

For updates on Oakton-related news, follow Oakton Patch on Twitter and Facebook.