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The amount of Philpots in the dugout for the Troup softball team has been squared this season. Junior Sheniyah is joined by her father Nick, an assistant coach on the team, as the Tigers look to make a deep playoff run.

Sheniyah has been coached in some form or fashion by her father practically her entire life, but the prospect of having him present at every practice and game as a commanding presence brought a new dynamic to the dugout.

“After one practice, [Sheniyah] wanted to stay late and work on some stuff, and a couple of other girls wanted to stay and work on some stuff. When (coaches Ryan) Simpson and (Haley) Dodgins had seen me doing that they came over and they were like, ‘Hey, have you ever thought about coaching?’ I thought about it and decided to give it a shot.”

“It was kind of weird at first, because I was like, oh, no, this is not going to work because it’s different from him being on the inside rather than the outside looking in. It was like, wow he’s going to be there every day, every game, every practice.”

Trepidation turned into excitement. It began to feel like the old days again when Sheniyah was playing Parks and Rec ball.

“It didn’t feel any different than when he coached me before,” Sheniyah said. 

“He’s not harder on me on the field, but when we get home I hear all about it,” she added, laughing.

Though there can occasionally be an awkward car ride home after a bad game.

“It is more of me sitting in silence as he is talking away,” Sheniyah said as the two shared a laugh.

It is only right that Nick gets the chance to help put a bow on Sheniyah’s last couple of seasons with the Tigers as he introduced her to the sport about as soon as the younger Philpot could put one foot in front of the other. 

“As soon as she could walk, we were throwing a ball,” Nick said. “She was about three or four when we first got her started with softball and basketball.

“My son, he started off and she would get out in the yard with him when they were both young. I mean, I just saw how she just caught on to everything. She went through on the ball, hitting the ball. She just kind of fell in love at the moment.”

Shenyiah’s immense talent has been on display for some time now. As an eighth grader, she played up with the JV team. The very next year she was a locked-in starter on varsity. 

“It felt good that they trusted me to be out there playing as a freshman. There were other players that could have been out there playing, so it meant a lot for the coaches to trust me at that age,” Sheniyah said. 

The transition to high school ball was aided by her father, but there was another transition that Sheniyah would have to make on the diamond. When she hit the high school ranks, the team had an absence in the outfield and Sheniyah was eager to fill whatever role was needed. A second baseman/shortstop by trade became an outfielder which is where she still finds herself in her penultimate season with Troup. 

“My whole life until I got up here I played in the infield,” Sheniyah said. “I just wanted to play, so I was open to playing wherever they needed me.”

Sheniyah burst onto the scene as an underclassman, but unsurprisingly, is putting together her best season yet on the diamond this season. The junior hit .407 with an on-base percentage of .533 (both career highs and good enough for second-best in the team among players with at least 10 at-bats) during the regular season.

For the most part, Sheniyah is a singles machine, showing a consistent ability to get on base. She can occasionally flex the power too like she did when she hit her first career grand slam in a game against Sandy Creek.

“It felt so good because it was a big moment for us and we really needed it,” Sheniyah said. “We really needed that win, it was special.”

The softball season is near at hand, but it is far from the end of the athletic year for Sheniyah. The junior will be jumping straight from softball into basketball, where she is also a star for the Tigers. 

She still has two feet firmly planted in the softball season right now. The team is gearing up for the first round of the state playoffs that will kick off on Friday at Mary Persons. The Tigers come into the postseason on a five-game winning streak and Sheniyah and the team are feeling confident.

“It was a great end to the season,” Sheniyah said. “Just the energy, our defense, our hitting has come a long way since the beginning of the season. Everything just came at the right time, and it just felt really good to be on this ride with this team.”