May 27, 2025
Tavares High School’s Valerie Neu Named FHSAA Class 4A Softball Coach of the Year
By Kyle Coppola
Tavares High School’s Valerie Neu Named FHSAA Class 4A Softball Coach of the Year
TAVARES, Fla. — Tavares High School’s Valarie Neu has been named the FHSAA Class 4A Softball Coach of the Year by Lake & Sumter Style Magazine, following a historic 2025 season that saw the Bulldogs reach the Regional Semifinals for the first time in more than a decade.
Under Neu’s leadership, the Bulldogs posted a 13-9 record and made a deep postseason run, reigniting pride in a program which had seen postseason berths but they hadn’t seen this level of success since 2013 when the team was coached by Nikki Sauerbrey. Tavares surged to its highest FHSAA state ranking in over a decade, climbing to No. 132—an impressive jump from last season’s 290th place finish.
(This is coach Neu’s 2nd winning season in 3 years. The program is moving in the right direction. Photo Credit – Tracey Hanson.)
“Coach Neu has done a trumendous job building relationships and a solid foundation for the last few years and we are now getting to see the onfield success pay off. This was one of the most productive and successful seasons for Tavares High School since at least the 2012 or 2013 season so we are very excited about what’s happening ” says Tavares High Athletic Director Trey Grant.
In addition to on-field success, Neu’s mentorship helped pave the way for two standout players to advance to the next level. Senior outfielder Jasmine Lawrence will compete at the NCAA Division I level with Troy University, while pitcher Emmy Lee is set to continue her softball and academic career at Lake-Sumter State College.
(Senior Jasmine Lawrence heads to Troy University where she will compete at the NCAA Division 1 Level. Photo Credit – Nicole Hamel.)
Lake & Sumter Style Magazine praised Neu not only for the team’s turnaround this season but also for fostering a culture of pride, belief along with providing an opportunity for young women in sports.
With a strong foundation laid in 2025, Coach Neu and the Bulldogs are already looking ahead to the future. They have a good group of returning talent next year and we are very proud of the season this team was able to put together in 2025. Congratulations to coach Neu and the Tavares Lady Bulldogs!
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
