Stephanie Phillips, a beloved coach in the Ozarks, died on a summer Saturday night. My colleague, Michael Stacy, and I heard the end was near on a Friday afternoon and canceled our plans for the weekend to stay by our apartment complex. Because she was terminally ill, we had a lot of the legwork done already. When we received the news, we hunkered down in his apartment and made the tough phone calls. We were the source for information and rememberances, set up a tribute page for later in the week and solicited response from the community, which was well received. We shared a first-place award from the Missouri Associated Press Managing Editors for our work. Published July 12, 2010.
Joe Atkisson said the secret to the success of the Kickapoo High School girls' basketball team over the years was not great talent and certainly not luck.
It was its tough, fair and loving leader.
From observing and practicing against the Lady Chiefs as a member of the scout team, Atkisson saw firsthand the interaction Phillips had with her players.
"She handled each girl differently," said Atkisson, who graduated from Kickapoo in the spring. "We had players that were good, but the coach made the team. She was very driven and wanted to win, but she also was very caring."
Many residents of southwest Missouri are grieving the loss of Phillips today in different ways. The coach died Saturday in Springfield after a long bout with colon cancer. She was 36.
Atkisson received a text message from one of Phillips' players Saturday night informing him of her death. He anticipates gathering with friends and other members of the Kickapoo community in the coming days to remember their teacher, coach and friend.
There was a moment of silence for Phillips at the Gerald A. Pilz and Friends high school all-star basketball games Saturday at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout.
"She was a joy to work for," Deric Cofield, a longtime area referee, said at the game. "She was a true competitor on and off the court. It's a true loss for our entire community."
Springfield Public Schools Athletic Director Mark Fisher said he will always remember how hard Phillips battled the disease and the outpouring of support for her from the community.
"She just was such a wonderful person," Fisher said. "Everything that she did, she did it with perfection, and her team just reflected that.
"She was such a professional, too. She just had the respect of her peers and had the highest level of respect from everyone."
Visitors to Chrissy George's blog, stephsgonnawin.blogspot.com, which detailed Phillips' battle with cancer and life following the diagnosis, came from all over Missouri and from to Reno, Nev., to Tyler, Texas, on Saturday night.
"Coach Phillips ... you will be missed by all. You were such a great leader and coach. A wonderful woman ... Please watch over your boys every day!!!" wrote one commenter on the site.
Nixa High girls' basketball coach Jim Middleton said he was not surprised about the outpouring of support for Phillips and her friends and family during her fight.
Fundraisers were held at schools throughout the state in various sports, and yellow bracelets were worn in support of Phillips throughout the Ozarks.
"I would like to think it's just southwest Missouri," Middleton said. "You just try to look out for each other. You try to help each other when times are tough, and we celebrate when times are good."
George posted a passage on the site late Saturday night including lyrics from a Toby Keith song.
It read: "I'm gonna miss that smile/I'm gonna miss you my friend/Even though it hurts the way it ended up/I'd do it all again./So play it sweet in Heaven/Cause that's right where you wanna be/I'm not cryin' cause I feel so sorry for you/I'm cryin' for me...
"We Love you Steph ... to Pluto and back."
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