Source: Farmington Press

Author: Mike Moore / Sarah Purlee

FARMINGTON HILLS — As the pregame prayer begins, they stand next to one another with the team surrounding them.

Father and daughter, coach and assistant.

It’s the second straight season that this has been the arrangement with the Farmington Hills Mercy softball team, yet as familiar as this all is, it’s entirely different.

A year ago, Sara McGavin was coaching softball at Mercy and her dad, Alec Lesko, was her assistant.

The job, the sport, the role as skipper was all a dream come true for her.

But a year later, the reality of having a son playing travel baseball and two young daughters at home became her top priority.

As much as she wanted to continue as the head coach, she had to step down and hand the team to someone else.

“And you know what, they’re in good hands right now,” she said with a smile prior to the April 21 game at home against Livonia Ladywood. “They’re in very good hands.”

McGavin is still with the Marlins, serving as an assistant to her old assistant, her dad.

“Our styles are very similar,” said Lesko, Mercy’s second-year coach but first as the head man. “Sarah had asked me to help when she took over mainly because of the experience I had. But the final calls were hers. I could give her my thoughts, but we were usually on the same wavelength. Two heads thinking with the same philosophy is much better.”

Though new to the role with Mercy, coaching has been a way of life for Lesko.

The Trenton resident served as an assistant for 20 years with the Trenton High program and has served as head coach with elite travel softball teams for nearly as long.

His demeanor never changes, offering small compliments and reminders to his team after nearly every pitch.

He said he enjoyed his time helping his daughter a year ago as the team’s assistant, and enjoyed not having the final say on every decision.

“But I’m really enjoying this year now,” Lesko said. “This is the kind of thing I strive for. Game prep and game management is something I’ve always enjoyed.”

The transition to a new coach has been flawless, both in what Lesko and McGavin had to say and with how the team is playing.

In the Ladywood doubleheader, Mercy cruised to 12-2 and 14-4 victories.

The offense was dominant. The pitching was stellar and the defense superb, highlighted by a running catch by Molly Murphy in the top of the first inning when she slammed into the fence and pulled what could have been a three-run home run back, instead making it the third out of the inning.

“That play, it’s weird to think how much of an effect it can have, but I really think that was the biggest defensive play of the day,” Lesko said. “It calmed us down a lot in that first game.”

Mercy never looked back.

“The transition’s been pretty seamless — for him, for me and for the girls,” said McGavin, a Madison Heights resident. “I’m glad to be part of this team on a part-time basis, and he certainly knows what he’s doing. … Really, not much has changed.”

“It was a great advantage to come into the year knowing the girls, and more so, them knowing me,” Lesko added. “They understand my expectations and what I brought to the table last year. I couldn’t be happier with the way they’ve responded. It’s a great group. They work hard. I mean, every recipe for success that you need, we have here.”