This article originally appeared at https://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/cyfair/article/Definition-of-perseverance-Cy-Creek-softball-16036069.php?cmpid=gsa-chron-result by Alvaro Montano
This month marked a milestone for Cypress Creek High School head softball coach Randy Kight as he reached his 400th career win.
I’m very proud of getting the 400 wins, it was never a goal of mine
Kight has been head softball coach at Cypress Creek for 30 seasons but plans on retiring at the end of the school year after 45 years of coaching and teaching.
“I’m very proud of getting the 400 wins, it was never a goal of mine,” Kight said. “If you had told me when I started in 1991 that I’d still be coaching at Cy Creek in 2021 I would had probably looked at you and said, ‘you’re crazy.’”
Kight has learned a lot of things throughout his career from playing basketball at the University of Houston to coaching boys basketball for 15 years, including at Westfield the first six years after the school opened. He considers basketball his number one sport and wasn’t planning on coaching when coming to Cy Creek but said he was swayed by another coach, who knew of his experience in fastpitch softball, to lead the Cy Creek program.
Kite thought the Lady Cougars were going to reach the milestone win last year but said COVID-19 got in the way. The longtime coach ended the season last year just shy of 400 wins, with 394. Kight is glad the milestone is now behind them.
Three decades into his Cy Creek coaching career, Kight will depart from the school with this year’s group of nine seniors — seven of which started for him as freshmen. One of them is Delayne Moreno who plays under the same coach her mom Christina Moreno did 30 years ago.
Christina was on the varsity team for Kight’s first-ever win and her daughter Delayne pitched for his 400th victory when the Lady Cougars defeated host Cy Ridge 25-0 in District 17-6A play, March 9.
Delayne said the feat was a memorable event and something that meant so much to her and teammates. She said Kight was showered with Gatorade and water right when the game ended and was surprised with special-made towels and shirts.
The team followed it up that Friday night on their home field by presenting him a plaque and a special-made ball.
Kight said it was rather cold being doused with water.
“They had some water bottles in a cooler, I thought they were using them to drink but they were using them to douse me,” Kight said.
Delayne never thought she would be playing under the same coach her mom did and said Kight means a lot to her as the two have formed a special bond.
“He has taught me how to be humble and to focus on what you can control rather than things you cannot,” Delayne said. “He has trusted in me to be a leader of the team and I am able to talk to him about my thoughts on how things should go in the games. …It’s been entertaining playing for Coach Kight which means so much to me and my teammates as high school softball is supposed to be fun but we also know to get the job done when we need to.”
Strong-willed
As of the 400th win, Cy Creek was unbeaten in district to start the 2020-2021 season. Kight said the Lady Cougars have a good chance to do well if they can take care of Spring Branch ISD foes, and a legitimate shot to win district.
Delayne is an outfielder and shortstop but is primarily a pitcher this year and is committed to the University of St. Thomas. She remembers coming in as a freshman with teammates and making the playoffs and now hopes both she and Kight can close their careers with a district title.
The Lady Cougars finished fourth in district that year with seven freshman starters back in the old all-CFISD District 17-6A.
Kight went through a battle with colon cancer in 2017 and said those players were the first ones he coached after coming out of the hospital.
“We’d had a hard journey but I’m cancer free now. …They saw me at my worst and they still did a really good job,” he said.
Kight began coaching at Cy Creek during Christina’s junior year in 1991 and said that before he started coaching there, the softball program had a different coach each year and needed direction.
“Reaching 400 wins is just incredible, it’s an amazing feat and something for him to be really proud of accomplishing all at the same school,” Christina said.
Christina had a serious illness her junior year in college and said Kight made it a point to reach out to her mom multiple times to ask how she was doing in her recovery. She said he’s a genuine person beyond the field that truly cares about his players.
“In turn when he was fighting his battle with colon cancer Delayne’s freshman year, I made it a point to provide all of the support and advice I could to help him on his journey,” Christina said. “He was going through a lot, but still pushed through for the girls and the team and never missed a game despite how he may have been feeling.
“As a coach, he is the definition of perseverance.”
‘Time to turn it over’
Never in a million years did Christina think that Kight would still be coaching at Cy Creek when her daughter entered high school. Delayne started her first district game as a freshman at catcher which truly made Christina proud, because that was the same position she played. Christina said it’s crazy to think how all of the stars aligned to make that happen.
“It has really been pretty cool to see her play under him like I did,” Christina said. “She has created her own unique relationship with him and earned a spot as captain the past two seasons.”
There have been several older and younger sisters come through the program, Kight said, but he’d never coached the child of one of his former players before Delayne. He said it’s been special getting to coach her.
There are six players that signed scholarships this year including Delayne. Kight said that’s the most that he’s ever had on one team.
One of Kight’s most unforgettable moments is meeting the person who is now his wife on his first day of school coaching at Cy Creek — Kathy Fling, who coached girls soccer for 25 years and retired about five years ago.
Softball-wise, he said he’ll never forget beating a former CFISD standout who would later pitch for the US National Team and medal in the Olympics.
“My most memorable (moment) was beating Cat Osterman 1-0 her senior year when she was at Cy Springs,” he said.
Christina thinks it’s fascinating how Kight started his coaching career at Cy Creek when she was a student and will now be retiring as her daughter graduates. She said high school softball is all about having fun and representing one’s school and community.
“To have her doing that with the same coach, at the same school, in the same community 30 years later shows how tight knit the Cypress Creek community really is,” Christina said. “I really hope that this season the group of seniors that have all been with him on varsity since freshman year can bring him home a district title to close out his career.”
As of right now, Kight doesn’t know was his plans for retirement are. He said his wife seems to have a lot of things planned but they’re just going to play it by ear and probably just hang around and watch some games.
“We’re not going to move somewhere right now,” he said. “We’re talking about moving but that’s just talk right now. The one good thing about retirement my dad told me this was that when you wake up, you’re on the job. I can handle that. I’ve had a great run and it’s time to turn it over to somebody else.
