Patriot softball gains 7 pounds 11 ounces

By Aidan McGuire, sports information intern

“Like father, like son”, or even, “like mother, like son”, either way it’s not surprising that 51% of the voters on Valleebaby.com are predicting that Francis Marion University head softball coach, Stacey Vallee and her husband Greg’s first child will be an athlete.

The only question is: will “Baby V”, as the family referred to him while in utero, come out swinging a bat or kicking a soccer ball?

“He’ll probably play soccer,” Coach Vallee said. “Greg doesn’t really like baseball; he thinks it’s too slow.”

“Baby V” was due on April 8. However, the Vallee’s welcomed Ryker Michael Ronald Vallee on April 3 at 3:34 p.m. after a scheduled induction.

Ryker is the first child for the Vallees as well as the first grandchild on both sides.

But, before the 21-inch long bundle of joy was even thought about, there was a beginning to the rhyme…and it goes “First comes love”.

Vallee, who is in her fourth season as head coach of the Patriots, met her husband in 2002 while they were both coaching at Saint Leo University in Florida.

After Stacey took the FMU coaching position in 2004, Greg got a job in Columbia, S.C., as the director of the Columbia United Soccer Club, and the couple moved to Camden, S.C.

Two years later, Stacey and Greg continued the rhyme with “Then comes marriage”. The couple was wed in June of 2006.

The last verse, however, was more difficult then anticipated.

“After two miscarriages, we were very cautious with this pregnancy,” Vallee said.

But finally, less than a month ago, “Then comes the baby in the baby carriage” became a reality for the Vallee family.

“It was just complete and utter amazement,” Vallee said in regards to first seeing her son. “He was finally real instead of just something kicking me from inside.”

Despite being pregnant for the entire season, Vallee has continued her successful coaching career. In fact, as this season winds down, the Patriot softball team has received its highest national ranking since moving to NCAA affiliation in 1992. More recently, the Patriots took third at the Peach Belt Conference Tournament and earned the program’s first-ever bid to the NCAA national tournament which Ryker might come to.

While some mothers-to-be have their entire world flopped during pregnancy, there were only a few oddities for Vallee.

“My husband said I [was] pretty even keel,” Vallee said.

When she had to miss her first game ever, however, it was a different story. Vallee said that she was on the phone for every pitch during the away game that her doctor said was too far to travel.

“I spent some time at work, then I was restless, so I drove to Columbia, staying on the phone the entire time,” Vallee said.

Her commitment and success as a coach is always evident.

In her four seasons at Francis Marion, Vallee owns a 130-59 mark. Last year the Patriots earned a 34-16 overall record. They tied for fifth place in the Peach Belt Conference and narrowly missed earning a bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

In 2006, Vallee guided FMU to a 27-16 record and a sixth-place finish in the PBC regular-season standings which was also a near miss for the NCAA Tournament.

Her successful first year as the Patriot’s head coach was marked by a 36-14 overall record, which was the fourth-most wins in the program’s history.

Vallee’s success started prior to FMU, however. Before her years at FMU and at Saint Leo, Vallee, who is a native of St. Louis, Mo., earned her bachelor’s degree in sports medicine and athletic training from Barry University. During her college years, she was a four-year starter at third base and helped lead the Buccaneers to the Division II tournament each year. Vallee ended her college career third on the school’s games played list.

Following graduation, Vallee moved to Germany where she played for and acted as head coach of the Pulheim Gophers during the spring and summer of 2000. That fall, she came back to the U.S. and worked as an assistant coach at Florissant Valley Community College.

After that, Vallee became an assistant coach for the Saint Leo University Lions, served as the university’s assistant trainer and taught during the 2003-04 year, as well as working as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for two seasons.

Vallee said now that Ryker is here, her priorities have changed a little.

“I have more of a reason to get home instead of running here or there,” Vallee said, “He is definitely a priority.”

Vallee is the first Francis Marion athletic coach to give birth during their time coaching at the university.