Constance Orr spent five seasons being groomed to be head coach of the title-winning Florida A&M softball team. After learning under legendary coach Veronica Wiggins, Orr is trying to forge own her legacy while being faced with unprecedented off-the-field challenges.
“I’m continuing to follow coach Wiggins’ role. She set a great example for me,” said Orr. “The biggest advice she gave me was to just be myself and put my own name on this program.”
Orr, a native of Charlotte, N.C., was a former standout softball player at the University of North Carolina (UNC). During her playing career, she was named to the 2013 All-ACC team and to the 2013 All-ACC Tournament team.
Orr said she has been able to share her playing experiences with the student-athletes at FAMU, giving them a different perspective on playing at the Division I level.
But nothing she has faced on the field or on the sidelines has prepared Orr to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and the new protocols required to keep players and staff safe.
As Orr and the Rattlers prepared for the 2021 spring season, the team was forced into quarantine for the majority of February. As a result, they missed 11 games to begin the season, including competing in the JoAnne Graf Classic and the Georgia Classic.
“The first games of the season being cancelled were rough on everyone because we had prepared so hard for the opening weekend and everyone was so excited to get back on the field. It was temporarily taken away from us overnight,” said Orr. “But we used the extra time to our advantage to continue to get prepared for when were able to return to the field.”
Orr and the Rattlers’ first game came on Feb. 26 at the Unconquered Invitational at Florida State University as the Rattlers suffered back-to-back losses to Southeastern Louisiana University.
Despite the setbacks, Orr said the team was just excited to get back on the field to compete.
“I believe there was more emotion than rust,” said Orr. “We were not rusty, but were excited, anxious, nervous, jittery and just overwhelmed. We just had all kinds of emotions going into those games.”
Orr picked up her first collegiate head coaching victory on March 21, a 3-2 win over North Carolina A&T State University and added to her resume the second win a week later.
Florida A&M has 13 games remaining before the MEAC Softball Tournament championship May 13-15 in Norfolk, Va. The Rattlers conclude their home portion of the schedule this weekend (April 2-3) against South Carolina State at the FAMU Softball Complex. The doubleheader Friday begins at 4 p.m. and the series will wrap up on Saturday with two games starting at 1 p.m.
