Softball lovers and sports fans from across Spring ISD and beyond gathered on Friday at Spring High School, where the district officially dedicated the newly named Julie Wyrick Softball Field, honoring the longtime Spring High School coach.
The dedication ceremony brought out current and former players, students, staff members and district administrators, all joining Wyrick and her family to recognize Wyrick’s legacy as a coach and her impact on students over the years.
“It feels surreal, it really does,” Wyrick said following the ceremony during which the specially made plaque bearing her name was unveiled to applause and cheers. “It’s an amazing honor.”
During her remarks, Spring ISD Superintendent Dr. Lupita Hinojosa praised Wyrick’s record as a coach while emphasizing her dedication to her students.
“One of the things that we as educators talk about often is our ‘why,’” Hinojosa said, “why we show up every single day, why we get out of bed and come to work every single day, despite all the obstacles, the hardships, and all the challenges that we face. And for Coach Wyrick, her ‘why’ is clear – it’s her commitment to the young ladies that she coaches and her pride in their achievements, both on and off the field.”
During the regular school board meeting in June 2023, the Spring ISD Board of Trustees honored Wyrick and first unveiled the plaque that now stands by the field’s entrance, after having received numerous requests from community members, school namesakes, former teachers and principals in support of Wyrick.
“Coach Julie Wyrick has dedicated time, effort and love, and deposited that into the success of our students, for a long time,” said Spring ISD Board of Trustees President Justine Durant. “And so, this small dedication today is just a little bit of the gratitude that I want to bestow on her, on behalf of the board of trustees. We are grateful for you, we are proud of you, and I am so excited to be a part of this event today.”
The longtime coach, who is beloved by current and former students and their families, has over 600 career wins as a softball coach and has been at Spring High School for almost 24 years. During her time spent in Spring ISD, Wyrick has led her teams to 20 playoff appearances and 8 district championships, as well as one regional final appearance. In her 27 years of coaching overall, Wyrick has amassed a record that includes 10 District Titles, 2 Regional Final appearances and 1 State Tournament appearance. With 640 total wins and counting, she has also been named the district’s Coach of the Year four times, and is a two-time Spring ISD Board of Trustees Point of Pride recipient.
Current and former students who attended the ceremony shared their recollections and lasting impressions of working with Wyrick, making it clear her positive impact on students’ lives extended far beyond the bleachers and well out into home-run territory.
“She’s shaped so many lives,” said Courtney Vosburgh, a graduate of the Class of 2008 who went on to play softball in college at Sam Houston State University. “You can just see by the turnout here today, her players really look up to her, and the parents do, too.”
Vosburgh – whose last name was Schoenemann when she played in high school – is now a parent herself, and still remembers the lessons she learned as a student-athlete training under Wyrick’s leadership.
“She’s a tough coach, she keeps you accountable,” Vosburgh said. “It was an honor to play for her, and it’s even cooler now to consider her family, and to come back and support her and to see all the milestones that she’s achieved.”
During her remarks, Wyrick spoke with emotion about her own high school softball and basketball coach – as well as a mentor and personal hero – Joe Gibson, a legend in Wyrick’s native Oklahoma who spent 66 years coaching at Barnsdall High School, leading students in almost every sport imaginable over the course of a storied career in which he racked up thousands of wins – and also had a school athletic facility named in his honor.
Gilbert died in 2020 at 87 years old, and although he couldn’t be there on Friday to witness as one of his coaching protégées shared in the honor of a naming dedication, Wyrick said that Gibson’s legacy would always be a big part of her own life and, by extension, her work with students.
Among the current players attending the ceremony was junior London Park, who said Wyrick had become like family, helping her get through struggles both on and off the field, while growing stronger through it all.
“She finds a good balance of always pushing me, but also always being the person who’s got my back,” said Park, who recently committed to play Division 1 softball at the University of Illinois. “She’s always just had the perfect balance – pushing people, but also always being their biggest supporter; loving somebody, while also telling them, like, ‘Hey, you need to get your stuff together!”’
Through all the ups and downs in her many seasons as a coach, Wyrick has always remembered one of Gibson’s most important legacies – his focus on building up young people and helping them see their own potential.
“I can honestly tell you that every single one of those kids is special,” Wyrick said. “And 600 wins don’t come without those kids and their dedication, their willingness to buy in – to me, to my coaching staff, to who we are, to what we do – to buy in and build the culture. It’s kind of like herding ducks, I think. I’ve just got to herd them in the right direction, but they’re the ones that really made the culture be what it is, and they’re the reason that there’s 600-plus wins and that this is ‘Julie Wyrick Field’ now.”