An Inning With Brady; A Season of Love

Parents of a lot of softball programs might be looking forward to a specific inning because their daughter is coming up to bat or maybe will get a chance to play second base.

While that was the case for Kingfisher High School’s parents in 2023, there was another reason to be excited about an upcoming inning.

It was “their inning” to hold baby Brady.

•••

Kingfisher Superintendent David Glover announced late last spring that he was hiring Morgan Dutton to teach high school science and take over the school’s softball program.

Dutton was a familiar name to most within the district as she coached and taught here during the 202122 school year.

She made her mark not only in the classroom, but also amongst the many junior high athletes she coached in softball, basketball and track.

However, after just one year here, Dutton and her husband Bryan - who coached wrestling, football and baseball in the district announced they’d accepted positions in Rogers, Ark.

Kingfisher’s opening earlier this year coincided with the Duttons desiring to return to Oklahoma.

She applied. She interviewed. She was eventually offered. She accepted.

Though it wasn’t a factor in considering whether to hire Dutton, there was a personal dose of news that was sure to make softball season interesting.

Prior to her being offered the position, Dutton announced that she was expecting the couple’s first child.

The baby was due around the beginning of August… which happens to be the annual start of the fastpitch softball season in Oklahoma.

••• Brady Alan Dutton introduced himself to the world on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023.

He and his mother were released from the hospital three days later.

Then three days after that, Brady made his first appearance at a KHS softball practice.

His very first game - and the team’s first game - was Tuesday, Aug. 8, when he was just one week old.

Practices and games were the dilemma for Dutton.

Bryan is working fulltime and neither set of grandparentsiscloseenough to just drop off Brady for a few hours.

So Brady went to practices… and to games.

But Brady couldn’t be attached to mom at all times.

That meant depending on others for help…which was the hardest part for Dutton.

“The biggest thing was learning to be okay with others helping me out,” she said.

“I didn’t want the girls’ parents to feel like they had to watch him.”

Little did she know they were clamoring to do so.

They could hardly wait their turn.

•••

“As parents of teens, who more often than not don’t even want to acknowledge our existence, having the trust from Coach Dutton to help her care for her newborn baby was amazing,” said Keri East, mother of freshman pitcher Kinlee East.

When possible, East was part of the rotation at games that took turns watching Brady.

However, she also ran the GameChanger app during games, which allowed those who couldn’t attend the ability to keep up on their smart phones.

“A lot of times, I have to go to practices and steal him to get my time,” she said.

Practices are when the team helped out as well as assistants Courtney Deterding and Aniessa Edsall.

“The girls love when he is around and they made it easy to run practice while he was there,” Dutton said.

East wouldn’t be denied when she was around.

“We had to call seniority over the girls on many occasions because they wanted to hog him,” she said.

When it was too hot for Brady to be outside, other coaches even stepped up.

“He spent a ton of practice time in the cheer room,” Dutton noted.

Cheer coach Carma Reagan would make sure Brady kept cool in the practice facility her team shares with softball.

“I can’t thank Carma enough for that,” Dutton said.

On game days, parents - and even grandparents - eagerly awaited “their inning” with Brady.

East. Melissa Slezickey. Lyndsi Taylor. Jordan Smith. Leah Seely.

The list goes on.

“They took him without question and they loved on him the entire season,” Dutton said.

Seeing their affection for Brady made it easier for Dutton to receive that help she was reluctant to seek.

“They made that transition really easy,” she said. “Seeing how they loved on him during the games and in between innings made it so much easier.”

It’s time the parents cherished.

“We all enjoyed taking turns feeding him and even to the chagrin of some parents who hadn’t done so in a while - change a diaper or two,” East said.

“And, most importantly, we loved getting those fresh baby snuggles.”

For Seely, mom to freshman Adlee Friesen, the combination of softball and baby holding was sublime.

“While holding Brady during the games, I would always say, ‘Life doesn’t get much better than this,’” she said.

“Watching our girls play this awesome sport they love while having a baby laying on your chest is pretty darn perfect!” ••• The season is now over.

KHS played 31 games in just over seven weeks.

Dutton coached every game while being a brandnew mother.

“I think it’s amazing how she balanced it,” said Dave Slezickey, father of freshman Mattie Slezickey, who also got his time with Brady.

“She pours so much into our girls, investing in them, and the parents truly appreciate it and enjoy helping with Brady.”

Whether sneaking a glimpse while coaching at third base or checking in on Brady between innings, Dutton saw a cliché come to life.

“It takes a village to raise a child and we have a great one right here in Kingfisher,” Dutton said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without everyone who helped out.”

They did so one inning at a time.

“I know more than one parent or grandparent who got quite excited for ‘their inning’ of holding him,” East said.

“And we are so excited to watch him grow.”