University of Minnesota Athletics
A True Softball Family: The Chells
11/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Halfway through her first ever T-ball season Taylor Chell was punched square in the face by an angry right fielder when she ran all the way from second base to right field and tried to take the ball away from him.
"I was like, 'oh dang, that will teach her to be a ball hog,'" Taylor's dad Jeremy said. "For the next five years, that little boy's dad, Matt Price, and I coached together. Our families became really close, and he is the one that made Taylor fall in love with the game of baseball. To this day, we still stay in contact."
It all started when a T-ball registration postcard showed up in the mail. Taylor's mom Aimee thought it would fun for her to try out. Taylor went on to play baseball for eight years before transitioning to softball.
She developed a strong passion for the game but was not the only one. Jeremy has been coaching baseball or softball ever since she joined because he could not stand just sitting up in the stands. Taylor's younger brothers, Carter and Sawyer, both play baseball as well.
"Baseball and softball is an escape from the stress of reality for us," Taylor said. "We look forward to being able to step on the field and know that for those moments everything is perfect. We have met so many lifetime friends, and people that have beyond impacted us."
Now Taylor has gotten into coaching as well. Some of her favorite memories have been shared coaching with her dad.
"Some of the happiest moments I have had in this lifetime," Taylor explained. "From deciding lineups while eating mac and cheese, to laughing when we call a changeup because we know the kid is going to whiff, to going over hitting mechanic analysis just for fun. I love coaching beside the one I adore most in this world."
That feeling is no doubt mutual.
"I love coaching with Taylor," Jeremy said. "Seeing her with the girls makes me so proud to see what a great role model she has become. She is giving back to the game that has given her so much happiness in her life. The girls really look up to her."
While Taylor and Jeremy share coaching together, Taylor is equally thankful for everything her mom, Aimee, has done for her over the years. Not to mention she is the one who started it all for the Chell family.
"She was the one who signed me up. She has brought us to every practice, every game, every meeting possible," Taylor said. "She always had dinner made so we were able to eat before we could go. She paid all the fees, equipment, and travel expenses. She has sacrificed everything for us to be able to do what we love and I will never be able to thank her enough."
Taylor has helped pour her passion into her younger brothers as well. She considers them her best friends and even had the opportunity to coach them. With a family full of a competitors the Chell family turns even the simplest of things into a full blown challenge.
"From who has the greenest grape, who can do the most pull-ups, to who could fit the most baseballs in their arms," Taylor explained. "You name it and I assure you it has been a competition in the Chell family."
Now with Taylor gone to college her family misses her but travel to many of the places the Gophers go across the country to support her and watch her play. While he is proud of all she has accomplished Jeremy said it doesn't matter if he is watching her play at a Big Ten stadium or in their backyard.
"To be honest, she could be playing in a junk yard for all I care," he explained. "I just love watching her play. There is no place I would rather be than watching my kids play ball."
The Chell family is a true baseball and softball family and it is going to be that way for many years to come.
"I am not only marrying a baseball player, but I am getting married on a special baseball field," Taylor said. "How's that for a happy ending?"
