By Rubin E. Grant
Oak Mountain senior Emma Hawkins couldn’t help but become an athlete and, in particular, a softball player.
Her mother, C.J. Urse Hawkins, played softball at Ohio State and won more than 900 games as a high school coach at Clay-Chalkville and Spain Park.
But coach Hawkins didn’t insist that her daughter become a softball player. It just naturally happened.
“She’s got the Urse genes,” coach Hawkins cracked. “There are a lot of athletes in our family.”
“Emma was catching the ball while she was still in the womb,” coach Hawkins said. “I was pregnant with her when I was at Clay-Chalkville and was coaching three months before she was born.
“She’s always been at practices and shagging balls. She loves competing at everything.”
Emma Hawkins started competing almost from the time she could walk. Her competitive spirit comes from her mother.
“My mom has definitely been the biggest influence on me as an athlete,” Emma said. “When I was 5 years old, she would throw me a football and I’d dive and catch it on the couch.
“I wanted to beat her in everything – pingpong, basketball, whatever. With my mom going to Ohio State and playing softball, I wanted to be like her one day.”
Emma’s small stature – she’s 5-foot-3, while her mom is 5-1 – played a role in her becoming a softball player.
“Softball is a sport where you don’t have to be a certain size and weight,” coach Hawkins said. “Maybe, if she was taller, she could have played something else, but at 5-3, you’re kind of limited.”
Emma said, “I definitely got my height from my mom, but like she always says, ‘tiny but mighty.’”
Emma played varsity softball at Spain Park while her mother was still the coach there. After her mom was let go at Spain Park after the 2022 season, she transferred to Oak Mountain for her junior year.
“I had a great time at Spain Park,” Emma said. “We got to state there. When I came over to Oak Mountain, I got to play with some of my best friends since birth. Changing schools was a good help to get me ready for college.”
A Line in the Sand
Coach Hawkins has retired from teaching but is an assistant coach at Oak Mountain. Emma, an only child, doesn’t have any problems playing for her mother.
“At Spain Park, she obviously was the head coach,” Emma said. “I believe she had a great impact on me, but I didn’t talk to her, I talked to one of the other assistants. And I never called her mom on the field.”
Coach Hawkins said that’s part of their agreement.
“We have something like a code,” coach Hawkins said. “When we’re in the car going to a game or practice and I put on my hat, then I’m ‘coach.’ But when I take my hat off, I’m ‘mom.’’’
The two enjoy a close mother-daughter relationship. “She’s like my best friend,” coach Hawkins said.
“She’s my biggest supporter,” Emma said. “I don’t ever remember a sporting event when she wasn’t there.”
Emma plays center field for the Eagles (10-9-1) and has been an All-State player. Before spring break last week, she was hitting .418 (23 for 55) and had a .492 on-base percentage in 20 games. She also had scored 14 runs.
“She’s a great player,” Oak Mountain head coach Jordan Burson said. “She’s our centerfielder and she’s solid out there, and she’s so consistent at the plate.”
Burson was overjoyed when Emma transferred to Oak Mountain.
“I’ve known Emma her whole life,” he said. “She’s the same age as my little sister.” His sister, Jenna Burson, is a senior utility player for the Eagles.
“Emma is a great leader for our team. She’s a super competitor and wants to win. I hated playing against her when she was at Spain Park and I love having her at Oak Mountain.”
Emma is a three-sport athlete for the Eagles, also playing volleyball and bowling. As a setter, she helped Oak Mountain reach the Class 7A regionals last fall and finish with a 27-16 record. Twice she has been named first-team All-State in bowling by the Alabama High School Athletic Association bowling coaches.
“I love playing multiple sports,” Emma said. “It’s fun to get out and play with my best friends.
“I like starting off the school year with volleyball. It is so different from softball. It’s a fast-paced game, which is definitely fun. The ball is always coming back at you.
“You go straight into bowling from volleyball. At Spain Park, we had all the softball girls bowling. When I came to Oak Mountain, I started recruiting volleyball and softball players. We came in third four years in a row at state, twice at Spain Park and twice at Oak Mountain.”
Montevallo-Bound
Emma’s future is in softball. She is headed to the University of Montevallo to play for one of her mom’s best friends, coach Beth Wade.
“I love coach Wade,” Emma said. “I toured the campus and it’s a cute college town. A lot of my teammates from travel ball are going there. I think it’s a loving community, kind of like Oak Mountain.”
Plus, Montevallo is close to home, so her mom won’t have to travel far to see her play in college, but it will be different than having her mom around most of the time.
“It’s only 20 minutes driving time,” Emma said, “but I’ll still probably miss her.”
