Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Seeing Through a New Lens
April 22, 2020 | Softball, HailStateBEAT
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – Anna Kate Segars has always been a coach's kid.
Her father coached her through Little League and was there during her travel ball days. He pushed her not until she got it right, but until she couldn't get it wrong. When she reached high school, Segars came under her mother's coaching mantle. It was both a blessing and a burden.
"Being able to play the game that I've loved for not just a coach, but someone so much more special in my mother, it made things fun," she said. "I think in high school it was stressful at times because I felt like I had to be at a certain level. I felt like I had to earn everything and more because people thought that I was given stuff, and that wasn't the case."
Segars comes from a small town spread out across her county. It's not quite the type of place where everyone knows everyone else, but it's close. There were days in the summer where she didn't see anyone outside of her family. On top of that, her mother also teaches fourth grade at the local elementary school.
"She's been my coach, my teacher, my instructor. She's been my best friend," Segars said. "But there were times when it was hard. It was hard on me and it was hard on her. The journey was tough, but it's made me who I am.
"There were some times when I even wondered if my mom was proud of me," she continued. "And it wasn't that she wasn't. It was just because she never picked favorites. You know, if you were to walk out on that field, you wouldn't know that I was her daughter. She wasn't going to pick me over anyone else."
Her mother's style was difficult for Segars to appreciate at times, but her perspective was suddenly and radically changed on April 10, 2018.
The Segars family typically left for school together each day, but that day her mother had a field trip planned and needed to leave a bit earlier. About the time her mother would have been reaching the school, Segars' phone buzzed.
She glanced at the screen to see a message from one of her mother's former players, but Segars wasn't exactly sure why she would be getting a text from her that early in the morning while she was still getting ready.
The player wanted to know if Segars' mother had made it to school yet or not. She typed out a quick reply saying she should be there any minute then put her phone down.
"I'll never forget. I was standing in my living room, looking at the time on the TV and as soon as I sent that message, it was just like, I just got this sick feeling from my head to my toes," Segars said. "I knew that something was not okay."
She calmly rushed her younger brother to finish getting dressed and packing his things and loaded up her car. Her phone buzzed again as she was walking out the door. It was her grandmother calling to say there had been an accident.
Segars' mother had been hit at a four-way stoplight at an intersection with the highway. Her car had flipped and skidded down the road.
"We go the same way every day. I mean there aren't a lot of roads you can go down to get to the school where we are," Segars said. "From where we live and where my mom had her wreck, it's probably a six- or seven-minute drive. I got there in three or four."
When she came upon the scene she barely recognized her mom's car. Traffic was backed up and she was stopped a good distance from the wreckage, but she could make out the license plate number. That was enough.
Segars put the car in park, told her brother not to move and ran down the road to where her mother was waiting in an ambulance.
"The first thing she told me was, 'Call Mr. Tate [the principal] and tell him and make sure my kids are taken care of,'" Segars said. "She was afraid that no one was going to be watching her students. I mean, that just shows you how prideful she is of her job."
The doctors were able to piece her mother back together, mending the broken ribs and arm. She has plates and screws in her arm now to keep it stable. But the recovery was long and hard.
For the rest of her senior season, Segars drove home at 11:30 a.m. every day to check on her mom and bring her lunch. She'd come back at 2 p.m. to bring her out to softball practice to watch her team.
"Ever since that day I've just looked at life through a different lens," she said. "I've been grateful for so much more. I never would wish anything bad on anyone, but looking back now I'm grateful for that time because, honestly, I don't know if I would have changed. I don't know if I would have grown to become the person that I am."
Segars isn't the just the coach's kid anymore.
That was one change of many when she came to Starkville to begin her collegiate career. The typically shy, quiet outfielder has developed into a leader for the Bulldogs despite being just a sophomore.
Segars is one of the softball team's representatives on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and is outspoken about her faith through both MSU's chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and leading team prayers and devotionals.
She feels more relaxed not taking the game home with her each day, but she still appreciates the value of coaching in her life.
"What I'm most grateful for when it comes to playing for Ricketts, is not just the things that she teaches me about softball, but the leadership role she has outside of the field," Segars said. "She is teaching us to become grown, independent, strong-willed women, and she has done just that. That's why I enjoy playing for her and and playing with my teammates to represent our program and represent her as our head coach."
When the games end, Segars is always one of the last to leave the stands. She checks in with her father, who poured into her through the tee ball and coach pitch years. She finds her mother who refined those skills into the player she is today. Next in line are the extended family, some of whom have driven up to three hours to support her. Before she leaves, she picks up her one-year-old and four-year-old cousins.
This is Segars, pouring back into the next generation. She volunteers at FCA softball camps and with youth leagues in the summer. Once she graduates, she'd like to work with children.
"At this moment I don't know what my future holds," she said. "But I think, in time, I would like to help instruct little kids, whether it's through counseling, or softball and sports, or through FCA and stuff like that."
It comes from gratitude and her new perspective on life. As the team heads inside for their postgame meeting, Segars pauses for one last photo at home plate with the kids. She leads by example and is always willing to give back.
STARKVILLE – Anna Kate Segars has always been a coach's kid.
Her father coached her through Little League and was there during her travel ball days. He pushed her not until she got it right, but until she couldn't get it wrong. When she reached high school, Segars came under her mother's coaching mantle. It was both a blessing and a burden.
"Being able to play the game that I've loved for not just a coach, but someone so much more special in my mother, it made things fun," she said. "I think in high school it was stressful at times because I felt like I had to be at a certain level. I felt like I had to earn everything and more because people thought that I was given stuff, and that wasn't the case."
Segars comes from a small town spread out across her county. It's not quite the type of place where everyone knows everyone else, but it's close. There were days in the summer where she didn't see anyone outside of her family. On top of that, her mother also teaches fourth grade at the local elementary school.
"She's been my coach, my teacher, my instructor. She's been my best friend," Segars said. "But there were times when it was hard. It was hard on me and it was hard on her. The journey was tough, but it's made me who I am.
"There were some times when I even wondered if my mom was proud of me," she continued. "And it wasn't that she wasn't. It was just because she never picked favorites. You know, if you were to walk out on that field, you wouldn't know that I was her daughter. She wasn't going to pick me over anyone else."
Her mother's style was difficult for Segars to appreciate at times, but her perspective was suddenly and radically changed on April 10, 2018.
The Segars family typically left for school together each day, but that day her mother had a field trip planned and needed to leave a bit earlier. About the time her mother would have been reaching the school, Segars' phone buzzed.
She glanced at the screen to see a message from one of her mother's former players, but Segars wasn't exactly sure why she would be getting a text from her that early in the morning while she was still getting ready.
The player wanted to know if Segars' mother had made it to school yet or not. She typed out a quick reply saying she should be there any minute then put her phone down.
"I'll never forget. I was standing in my living room, looking at the time on the TV and as soon as I sent that message, it was just like, I just got this sick feeling from my head to my toes," Segars said. "I knew that something was not okay."
She calmly rushed her younger brother to finish getting dressed and packing his things and loaded up her car. Her phone buzzed again as she was walking out the door. It was her grandmother calling to say there had been an accident.
Segars' mother had been hit at a four-way stoplight at an intersection with the highway. Her car had flipped and skidded down the road.
"We go the same way every day. I mean there aren't a lot of roads you can go down to get to the school where we are," Segars said. "From where we live and where my mom had her wreck, it's probably a six- or seven-minute drive. I got there in three or four."
When she came upon the scene she barely recognized her mom's car. Traffic was backed up and she was stopped a good distance from the wreckage, but she could make out the license plate number. That was enough.
Segars put the car in park, told her brother not to move and ran down the road to where her mother was waiting in an ambulance.
"The first thing she told me was, 'Call Mr. Tate [the principal] and tell him and make sure my kids are taken care of,'" Segars said. "She was afraid that no one was going to be watching her students. I mean, that just shows you how prideful she is of her job."
The doctors were able to piece her mother back together, mending the broken ribs and arm. She has plates and screws in her arm now to keep it stable. But the recovery was long and hard.
For the rest of her senior season, Segars drove home at 11:30 a.m. every day to check on her mom and bring her lunch. She'd come back at 2 p.m. to bring her out to softball practice to watch her team.
"Ever since that day I've just looked at life through a different lens," she said. "I've been grateful for so much more. I never would wish anything bad on anyone, but looking back now I'm grateful for that time because, honestly, I don't know if I would have changed. I don't know if I would have grown to become the person that I am."
Segars isn't the just the coach's kid anymore.
That was one change of many when she came to Starkville to begin her collegiate career. The typically shy, quiet outfielder has developed into a leader for the Bulldogs despite being just a sophomore.
Segars is one of the softball team's representatives on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and is outspoken about her faith through both MSU's chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and leading team prayers and devotionals.
She feels more relaxed not taking the game home with her each day, but she still appreciates the value of coaching in her life.
"What I'm most grateful for when it comes to playing for Ricketts, is not just the things that she teaches me about softball, but the leadership role she has outside of the field," Segars said. "She is teaching us to become grown, independent, strong-willed women, and she has done just that. That's why I enjoy playing for her and and playing with my teammates to represent our program and represent her as our head coach."
When the games end, Segars is always one of the last to leave the stands. She checks in with her father, who poured into her through the tee ball and coach pitch years. She finds her mother who refined those skills into the player she is today. Next in line are the extended family, some of whom have driven up to three hours to support her. Before she leaves, she picks up her one-year-old and four-year-old cousins.
This is Segars, pouring back into the next generation. She volunteers at FCA softball camps and with youth leagues in the summer. Once she graduates, she'd like to work with children.
"At this moment I don't know what my future holds," she said. "But I think, in time, I would like to help instruct little kids, whether it's through counseling, or softball and sports, or through FCA and stuff like that."
It comes from gratitude and her new perspective on life. As the team heads inside for their postgame meeting, Segars pauses for one last photo at home plate with the kids. She leads by example and is always willing to give back.
Players Mentioned
OF/1B
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