KEYSTONE HEIGHTS - An inspiration.

If you ask anyone that knows Amanda Wagner, the junior varsity softball coach at Keystone Heights High School, nine times out of 10 that phrase will be used.

On Thursday, March 5, before Keystone High softball hosted Newberry, the Lady Indians team plus family, friends and coaches, held a dedication ceremony in Coach Wagner’s honor. All donning black in awareness of Wagner’s arduous journey with stage four metastatic melanoma.

“This journey has been a rough road. You have to have faith in the Lord to get you through it,” said Wagner, diagnosed in 2008 with a mole on her back. “Being there for them helps me. I’m here for every girl I’ve ever coached. All these years of travel ball, recreational ball and school ball, the girls just stay on top of me. They even call me at night after they know I’ve had a bad day, just to check on me. My daughter stays on top of me, too, left and right. She is there through thick and thin. My whole entire family are my biggest supporters.”

After the removal of the mole in 2008, 13 years passed before the news that the cancer had turned internal. From 2021 to present time, there have been a plethora of therapies, months of radiation, years of chemotherapy pills, several surgeries and a battery of testing.
When asked what has kept her spirits high and given her the mental fortitude to persevere on the trying days, Wagner quickly responded with praise to her softball and church families for bringing her along over the years. She thanks the Prayer Warriors for carrying her through her hardest of days.

However, her biggest praise goes to God. Coach Wagner looked to the sky when asked “How has this whole experience, your journey, changed how you coach or look at softball?” Her response was one of faithful dedication.

“I look at this as my ministry now," she said. "It’s my ministry to do what is best and share the kindness and love toward the sport and having my girls improve. Seeing that even though I’m going through all that I’m going through, I’m still out here pushing through no matter what. Just to show them that they can do it too.”

None of that is lost on her players. Her daughter, Amberlea Wagner, a senior catcher at Keystone High, proved just that with the words she spoke of her mother. Amberlea’s voice echoed over the softball field full of nerves and pride proving just that.

“My mom has shown me what real strength looks like," Amberlea said. "It’s being scared and showing up anyway. Hearing news and still being able to choose hope. Getting up every day and refusing to quit. She coaches us to be mentally tough. Now she’s living that lesson."

Amberlea went on to dedicate Ephesians 6:10 to anyone who might be struggling or going through a similar situation. She spoke with conviction, wrapping up the dedication by saying “Always remember this game has a deeper meaning than the scoreboard. It’s the outcome of the game we play with faith, strength and the talent God placed in us. Everything you work for, work at it with your best effort and do it for the honor of our God.”

The varsity Indians went on to mercy rule their opponent the Newberry Panthers that night with a score of 11-1. They dedicated the victory to Coach Wagner.