BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Ollie Powell, who was once a big part of the Keystone Heights High School softball program, was honored prior to the Indians’ season opener on Feb. 21.
“Coach Ollie,” who passed away Nov. 19, 2024, at the age of 81, was an assistant coach for the KHHS program for more than 10 years before retiring after the 2006 season. In a June 22, 2006, Telegraph-Times-Monitor story, former KHHS Head Coach Kathy Smith was quoted as saying, “I’ve pretty much been the manager. He did the coaching.”
Powell’s family members, including his wife, Karen, gathered on the field and watched as great-grandson Kanner threw a ceremonial first pitch to KHHS catcher Amber Wagner.
Former KHHS player Ashley Nugent, a 2024 graduate, said a few words prior to the first pitch.
“I never had the chance to play for Ollie Powell as an Indian, but I feel like I got to experience it all the same,” Nugent said. “Mr. Ollie was my pitching coach for many years. He taught me not only softball, but also life lessons that I now carry on to the younger children that I coach.”
Nugent added that she never had a “Papa, a Grandpa or a Pepaw, but I did have Ollie Powell.”
Former players talked of the relationship they enjoyed with Powell as part of the June 22, 2006, Telegraph-Times-Monitor story, which covered Powell’s surprise retirement party. Ashlee Painter Horton, a 1999 graduate, said, “He’s the best. He
deserves the best. He’s a good man.”
MaryAnne McCall Gamble, a 2006 graduate, credited Powell as the reason she continued playing softball as a youth, which led to her getting the chance to play at St. Johns River College.
“I wouldn’t be where I’m at today without him,” she said.
Those who played for him saw a coach who didn’t tolerate mental errors and one who demanded perfection. In fact, many players found him intimidating at first. Gamble said when she first met him, she was scared.
“Then, after that first year, everything changed,” Powell said. “They realized that whatever I was doing was for their benefit.”
Smith, the former KHHS coach, said that was a credit to Powell’s personality and his willingness to take players under his wing. What developed was a bond that was about more than just softball.
“Even though he’s a male, they’ll talk to him about anything,” Smith said. “He’s like a father to them.”
Horton agreed, saying, “He was practically my father for a while. I loved all of his positive comments.”
Gamble referred to Powell as her “best buddy,” saying, “He’s been the most dependable person in my life so far other than my parents.”
Powell, whose specialty was working with pitchers, said with Gamble’s graduation, the time was right to retire. He didn’t want to begin working with a new pitcher and not be able to be there until she, too, graduated. Working with a pitcher for just part of her high-school career wasn’t an option.
“They deserve 100 percent of whatever you’ve got or else don’t do it,” Powell said.
Powell said he played softball on “some pretty good” teams in Gainesville before he got into coaching.
“I just enjoyed the game and felt like I had something to pass on to the kids playing the game,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed kids. I’ve always liked being around them and interacting with them. I felt like I had some knowledge that they could benefit from.”
Prior to KHHS, Powell coached for the Keystone Recreation Association. He was asked to do so by Yancy Dull, who was coaching a team that wasn’t playing well. Powell’s first game as a part of that team was a 20-run loss.
“I told the kids after that game that we would never ever take another beating like that,” he said. “We wound up winning the league in the KRA.”
Powell and Dull also coached an all-star team that came within one win of making it to the Babe Ruth World Series.
KHHS didn’t have a softball field on campus when Powell began coaching the school’s junior varsity program, so he and Dull, who also coached at the school, took it upon their selves to help create one.
“Tina (Bullock), who was the principal at the time, thought we were just fooling when we told her we were going to build a field for the girls,” Powell said. “She came to school, and there were two bulldozers out there working.”
Donations and contributions helped the field become a reality. All Florida Electric, for example, provided several services for free, while Powell’s brother Bobby, who worked for Alcon Construction, built the dugouts among other things. Someone made an $11,000 donation to help purchase and install lighting.
“You just can’t give enough thanks to all the people who worked up there,” Powell said.
Powell, of course, deserved thanks, too, for his commitment to the KHHS program.
As Nugent said during the recent honor on Feb. 25, “He will be remembered here forever.”
