Whiting coach Kelly Morando and her daughter Lily, a freshman infielder, enjoy a dual dynamic in their relationship.
One play during a game against Bishop Noll this season neatly encapsulates it.
“She took one in the pouring rain to the fence,” Kelly Morando said. “It hit the top of their fence. I was more of a mom on third base, like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s going. It’s gone.’ And then it hit the fence, and I had to turn my coach hat on and yell at her for almost getting thrown out at second base because she was watching the ball too. So I had to switch gears there.”
Lily Morando recalls what almost was the first home run of her high school career.
“I usually try not to watch the ball,” she said. “But I was definitely watching that one when I was running to first. Then I saw it coming into second, and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m almost out.’ So I had to turn on the wheels and get there.”
Lily Morando has been getting on base a lot this season. Through Wednesday, she was hitting a team-high .435 for the Oilers (3-11) with six RBIs, which was also tied for the team lead. She has also settled into the shortstop position, where Kelly Morando played as a standout before graduating from Whiting in 2001.
“As her mom, I know what she can do, what she’s capable of doing,” Kelly Morando said. “I know putting her on varsity as a freshman, I was thinking initially, ‘Where can she fill a role?’ If I need a spot here or there, I know she can do it. She’s played the outfield. She’s playing the infield. She can do basically anything but pitch. That was my idea going in. And then once she started having more success at the plate, I was like, ‘OK, now let me find a more permanent role for her.’
“She had a rough game defensively the other day. But looking ahead, if she’s going to be my middle infielder for the next three years after this, she has to go through some of those games and learn that not every play is going to be made but how you bounce back from it is important. It’s definitely a learning curve for her, but she’s doing well.”
Lily Morando wasn’t quite sure where she would fit this season. She played on the junior varsity teams in both volleyball and basketball and was prepared for any eventuality in softball, which she called “my favorite sport.”
“I was freaking out about tryouts, like, ‘What if I do make varsity?’” she said. “Then I see my name on the list, and I was like, ‘No way.’ I feel like people would be like, ‘Oh, her mom told her who was going to be on the team.’ But, no, I found out just like everyone else did.
“I definitely had, like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m going to play for her!’ type of thing. I was really excited about it. When I was little, I used to come to practices with her, and now I’m actually in those practices. I’m glad I’m getting to do it. I’m lucky for it too. It’s not all the time you come across a daughter playing for their mom. I feel like it makes me better. In my brain, I know I have to do the best that I can. I don’t want to disappoint her. She knows what I can do.”
Kelly Morando also coached her older daughter Julia, a 2022 Whiting graduate who is a sophomore at Evansville and returned this past weekend from a semester abroad in England. But that experience was different. Julia Morando played on the JV team as a freshman, her sophomore season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Kelly Morando was on maternity leave during her junior season, and they were together for her senior season.
“They are quite different,” Kelly Morando said of Lily and Julia. “But you just try to keep the coach hat on during practices and games and take it off when you get home. That’s the biggest thing. It’s hard sometimes, but that’s the biggest thing. You try not to have the two of them blend together.”
Kelly Morando has walked that fine line with Lily in the program.
“I knew there would be some naysayers, especially with her being a freshman, ‘Oh, she’s the coach’s daughter, so of course she made varsity,’” Kelly Morando said. “But her play and her stats have really solidified the fact that she does belong on the team. Errors are going to come here and there, but we’re all not playing perfect softball at the moment. It just helps solidify her role and gives her more confidence that she can do this.”
After an uncertain start, Lily Morando’s confidence has grown.
“I didn’t think I’d be doing this,” she said. “High school ball is different than town ball. The pitchers are faster. They’re doing a whole bunch of different tricks with the ball. It’s definitely changing atmospheres. I’m surprised I’m doing this.”
Lily Morando has made an impression on teammates too.
“Her attitude is her No. 1 quality,” Whiting junior infielder Brie Bannister said. “She’s always super optimistic.”
Julie Collazo, a senior outfielder, praised Lily Morando’s consistency.
“She’s a good hitter,” Collazo said. “Whatever position she plays, she’s good at it.”
Kelly Morando spent six seasons as an assistant to the iconic Paul Laub — the program’s first and, to that point, only coach, with Whiting’s field now bearing his name. She took over in 2016, and her time with the Oilers appears to be winding down.
“Once she’s done, then I’m done,” Kelly Morando said of Lily’s career. “I have a little one who will be 6 or 7 at that time, then he’ll be getting into his own stuff.
“But I’ve been lucky enough to coach both of my daughters, and it’s been great. It’s been enjoyable. I try to separate the parent and coach hats as much as I can. But obviously seeing her do well, I’m the proud parent and also the proud coach.”
