April 7, 2001 – "Forever" was Janna Lee's response to the question of how long she has been coach of the star-studded Good Hope Tigers girls' fast-pitch softball team.
Having been coached by her mother at both Good Hope and Central High School, and now coaching two of her daughters on her current team, Lee is the anchor of a family legacy.
"I was taught the game of softball by my mother at the age of 5, and I have been playing or coaching ever since," Lee said. Originally from Texas, her family relocated to St. Croix when Lee was 10 years old. As a St. Croix student, she was a standout athlete under her mother's tutelage at Central and, later, Good Hope.
"As a coach, having our team work together as a cohesive unit is one of my primary goals," Lee said.
Her daughters, Jenna, 15, and Jayme, 13, are the team leaders. Jenna is the team's most outstanding player. Her strong pitching led to the Tigers' 8-0 blanking of the Eudora Kean High School Devil Rays in the first game of the fifth annual Ruby Rutnik Tournament under way on St. John.
"Most of our players, though just 10th graders, have been playing together for five years, always aspiring to work at a higher level," Lee said. They look forward to this tournament, in which Good Hope has participated since its inception in 1995, she added.
In their first game of the regular spring season, a week ago, the Tigers won 15-1.
On Saturday afternoon, they are scheduled to meet the Antilles School Hurricanes in a semifinal game in the round-robin tournament.