Messenger photo Britt Kudla: Fort Dodge softball coach Andi Adams hugs her Dodger players after Friday's state championship victory at Rogers Park.

Long after the celebration reached its crescendo and most of the crowd had filed out of Rogers Sports Complex late Friday night, Fort Dodge softball coach Andi Adams was saying her final goodbyes to friends and family members who have been a part of her inner circle all along.

The park sat in relative silence. Screaming players and a hectic scene had given way to heartfelt hugs and exhaling stakeholders.

The reality of Fort Dodge’s first state softball championship was starting to settle in.

In the middle of an interview with a lingering media member, Adams was approached by a player. A long hug ensued, and plenty of tears were shed during a private, motivational conversation.

This wasn’t a Dodger, though. It was an athlete from Ankeny Centennial — the team Fort Dodge had just beaten in the title game some 45 minutes earlier.

“A great person from a phenomenal family,” a tearful Adams said as the crestfallen Jaguar walked away. “That’s what it’s all about. At the end of the day, you just hope you have a positive impact on the lives of kids.”

Adams briefly told the story of coaching this girl years ago on the travel circuit. A bond had been formed. Something clicked between Adams, the athlete and her parents, even though they knew they’d later be high school rivals for years to come.

No one is more softball-centric than Adams. The sport, in so many ways, is her life. We’ve had countless late-night phone or text conversations about lineups and strategy through the years. There is no off switch for the Dodger head coach when it comes to the sport she loves unconditionally.

Adams is also fiercely loyal to the Dodgers and our community. She’s had bigger and better offers. Large high schools. New high schools. Colleges. There have been plenty of opportunities for the Hall of Fame coach to leave for greener pastures. There’s something about the soul of this town, though, that keeps her firmly planted in Fort Dodge, come hell or high water.

At the end of the day, though, Adams isn’t going to be there only for softball players or kids who don the Red and Black. She’s a teacher. She’s a motivator. And she wants to see young men and women — from all affiliations and walks of life — make it.

At the state championship rally inside Dodger Stadium on Saturday morning, Adams laughed about turning her phone on and seeing the 170 text messages she’d received in the brief period of time after the final out was recorded. Those congratulatory words weren’t all from Dodgers, nor they didn’t come exclusively from the softball community. All week long, former students, colleagues, high school friends and countless others checked in with Adams to wish her well, Frankly, a lot of them otherwise wouldn’t notice if Fort Dodge won in softball or not.

Andi Adams’ philosophies and personality aren’t for everyone. Trust me, we’ve had a lot of honest heart-to-hearts during our 20-plus year friendship. There are plenty of times where we just have to agree to disagree and go our separate ways.

That’s OK, though. Teachers and coaches don’t bat 1.000. Ultimately, Adams is trying to get the most out of her players and make them responsible, hard-working athletes who will someday be responsible, hard-working adults. And she’s doing it with her heart on her sleeve and the best intentions of those kids in mind. Sometimes, it hits. Sometimes, it misses. But it comes from a place of honesty and sincerity in the only way she knows how. The track record of success? It speaks for itself.

The same rules and methods apply in her classroom. It isn’t always pretty or perfect, but the results make Fort Dodge Senior High — not just the Dodger softball program — a better place at the end of the day.

Our society needs more leaders to hold young men and women accountable in this day and age. To show tough love through honest conversations. To prepare them for the real world. Above everything else — including the coveted state title her Dodgers now possess as a “last laugh” of sorts to the critics who said it couldn’t be done here — that is Adams’ primary motivation.

A hug from an opposing player or a message from a student who had Adams as a teacher but couldn’t care less about softball reaches heights in her legacy that this championship never could. The 2021 victories and memories will someday fade, but the lessons last a lifetime. This victory will forever be cherished, but Andi Adams’ impact on Fort Dodge was felt long before what will widely be considered her crowning achievement.

Eric Pratt is Sports Editor at The Messenger. Contact him via email at sports@messengernews.net, or on Twitter @MessengerSports