By T. Scott Boatright
The news reverberated from Choudrant throughout north Louisiana Tuesday following the sudden death of former Lady Aggies softball coach Wayne Antley on Monday.
Antley made big impacts on everyone he met in his 63 years on Earth, but none bigger than the hundreds of girls he guided as their softball coach.
Starting with his first coaching job at Montgomery High School coaching boys basketball and baseball. Antley made the move to the softball field when he moved to Marion to start the high school softball program there from scratch.
It was at Downsville High School, where he coached for 24 years, that he made his biggest impact on the scoreboards, leading the Lady Demons to two state championships.
Antley later coached four years of baseball at Downsville before returning to softball and coaching for eight years at Simsboro and then ended his coaching career at Choudrant, serving at the helm of the Lady Aggies program from 2022-24.
Simply put, Wayne Antley loved softball. More importantly, Antley loved his players, and they loved him back.
Katie Batterton, whose sons played baseball for Choudrant under Tony Antley, Wayne’s younger brother, and their cousin, current Aggies hardball skipper Joel Antley, played softball for Antley when she attended Downsville High School in the early to mid-1990s.
“Wayne Antley was my coach throughout high school and in 1995 our team won the state championship,” Batterton said of Wayne Antley as his Lady Aggies team was headed to the state softball semifinals in 2023. “I knew from the moment I heard he was the new head coach at Choudrant along with (current CHS softball coach) Stacey Tassin that they would be in the finals one day.”
Batterton said it was Antley’s people skills that helped make him such a successful coach.
“I think his success comes from knowing the game well and most importantly knowing the players well,” Batterton said. “He knows what his players are capable of, and he places them in positions and gives them plays to accomplish it. He was very laid back and always dealt with the girl drama well. He had a quiet strength that we were able to draw from.
“He always believed in me even when I may not have believed in myself. He was a great coach to play for because he never made me feel inadequate or not good enough. He put value in working as a team and brought the best out in all of us. I loved playing for him. He will forever be one of my favorite people and a person who had a big impact on my life.”
Heading into the 2023 state tournament, Antley told the LPJ that one of his favorite coaching experiences came when he was able to coach his daughter at Downsville in the late 2000s.
“We won state in 1991 and ‘95,” Antley said of his years coaching at Downsville. “And we went to state when my daughter was a junior, which would have been in 2008. That is the last time I went (to the state tournament).”
Antley also admitted he saw the game of girls high school softball change over the years.
“Back in 1991 and ‘95, pitching was it,” Antley said. “If you had a good pitcher, you could go to state. Those teams at Downsville had good pitchers and could hit. And that was the game in those days – hitting and pitching.”
He also admitted during that interview that his coaching had also changed over the years.
“Everybody tells me I have mellowed,” Antley said. “My daughter tells me that all the time. She’ll see a play and will tell me later, ‘Dad, if one of us had done that you would have gone off. I guess I am old enough that I don’t want to hurt their feelings anymore.
“I coached boys for four years after my daughter graduated in ‘08. I was tough on them still. But then when I went back to girls I just kind of slacked off — not as mean as I used to be.”
Choudrant High Principal Chris Jones said the entire CHS is in shock, and hurting following the stunning news.
“Wayne Antley was one of a kind,” Jones said. “He was not just a great coach. He was a great person. Wayne loved his family, his kids — Logan, Landon, and Haley — were very important to him. His love for his parents and the respect that he gave them was very admirable and he set a great example for all of us when we became grandpas, because of all the things that he excelled at, he was the best at being a grandpa. His whole world centered around “those boys.”
As a coach, he kept things light with his jokes and stories. He never took anything too serious, but he always had the respect of his kids and fellow coaches. Wayne was just special. Everybody that knew Wayne is going to miss him.
Antley impacted the baseball players he coached as much as his softball players.
Caleb Rogers, who now lives in Florida, was one of Antley’s hardball players at Downsville as was his father and younger brother. Rogers made a poignant post on Facebook honoring his former mentor after learning of Antley’s death on Tuesday.
“There are people in life who leave a permanent mark—not because they had to, but because that’s simply who they were,” Rogers wrote. “You were one of those people, Coach. You were more than just someone who taught me the game. You were a teacher of life, a leader by example, and a steady voice when things got tough. You treated me like a son, believed in me when I did not believe in myself, and showed me what discipline, loyalty, and heart really looked like.
“I will never forget the hours you spent with us—not just on the field, but in life. The lessons you gave me will always live on: Work hard. Stay humble. Play the game right. And above all, take care of your people. Thank you for being more than a coach. Thank you for being a father figure when I needed one the most. I will be forever thankful for your presence in my life — and I will remember you always, with pride and love. Rest easy, Coach. You made us all better.”
