Mother-daughter coaching duo to face off for first time: ‘Don’t go easy on me’

“It’s going to be very emotional, exciting and probably a little surreal,” Janene said. “Softball has been part of my life for more than 35 years, and my daughter has been part of that journey almost from the beginning.”

Her daughter emphasized that bragging rights were on the line.

“We can be nice about it before the game and after the game, but somebody has to go home with the win,” Elana said. “And I would definitely prefer for that somebody to be me.”

Janene expressed similar emotions.

“I told her, ‘Don’t go easy on me because I’m your mom.’ I don’t want her to take her foot off the gas, because I certainly won’t,” she said. “I want both teams to play their best softball.”

This is Year 1 for Janene at Pebblebrook, who spent the last seven years as an assistant coach at North Cobb, where she was part of three GHSA final four appearances, three region championships and multiple sweet 16s.

Janene coached Elana for most of her early softball career, starting when Elana was four years old in Maryland and then moving to Georgia and playing at Kennworth Park in Acworth from ages 10-16.

Credit: (Photo by Janene Edusei)

Credit: (Photo by Janene Edusei)

After more than a decade of coaching Elana, Janene made the decision to stop coaching and just be mom, which allowed her to just enjoy watching her daughter perform.

Elana, who played her high school career at North Paulding, went on to play collegiately at Clark Atlanta, graduating in 2021. She’s now in her second year coaching Druid Hills.

With both women getting to lead their teams, Janene finds a new form of motherly pride.

“Seeing her lead her own program makes me incredibly proud,” Janene said. “I see pieces of things I taught her, but I also see her own personality and coaching style.”

Elana credits her mom with her coaching foundation, but adds that she has built upon it in her own way.

“Before I ever really understood what coaching was, I was watching her do it. I definitely think that played a role in me becoming a coach myself,” Elana said. “I’ve been able to take things I learned from watching her and then develop my own coaching style as I’ve gotten older.”

The duo talk softball just about every day — even more now that they are both coaches — picking each others brains while also handing out advice, because ultimately each one wants to see the other succeed.

Regardless of the outcome, both understand that just being able to share a moment like this will be something they will cherish forever.

“What I’ll remember is looking across that softball field and seeing my daughter standing in the other dugout as a head coach and realizing that a game we have shared for most of her life has brought us to this moment,” Janene said. “That’s pretty special, and it’s a moment none of us will ever forget.”