High school softball fans in Indiana knew Russ Milligan as a winner, and he was — more so than any coach the state has ever seen.
But far more importantly, Milligan loved fiercely and uniquely, and the hundreds who gathered at Center Grove’s softball complex on Saturday morning did so to celebrate an uncommon person first, a legendary coach second.
The sign that was unveiled at the top of the left-field scoreboard to officially christen Russ Milligan Field was a fitting honor for a man who led the Trojans to five state championships and well over 700 victories during his tenure. Softball was, though, just one compartment of a life well lived and full of love.
“He was a genius of relationships, and that’s how he did so well in everything he did,” said Alex Milligan, the youngest of Russ’ two sons. “As a teacher, as a coach, as a guide in the mountains, he taught basically the same morals in every situation — and also made you work hard. He showed you how to love things. Life’s pretty simple.
“I’m just happy to be here. I was a very lucky guy.”
Russ Milligan died in February of complications related to COVID-19. He was 56.
Just before the official unveiling on Saturday morning, Center Grove athletic director Jon Zwitt recalled how, when players might have griped about how practice was going on a given day, Milligan would often retort with something along the lines of, “This isn’t your daddy’s field; this is my field.”
That was part of the Russ’ frequently-gruff exterior, one that could never fully mask the warm heart beating beneath it. Alex Milligan smiled while likening his father to a Sour Patch Kid — get past that initial pucker-inducing bite, and you were left with pure sweetness.
Not everyone could get past it, but the many who could were richly rewarded.
“You always knew where you stood with Russ, and that was part of his love,” said the coach’s wife, Alisha Milligan. “He did not hide it; he did not shield himself from love, and from just truly always being powerful in a moment.
“He did that in the softball field, in the mountains, and most importantly, he did it with the people that he loved — and I will forever be a better person because he loved me.”
Numerous others — former students, players, faculty members and coaching colleagues among them — came to be a part of the dedication ceremony for precisely that reason. Russ Milligan loved them all, and they all loved him back.
Current Center Grove softball coach Alyssa Coleman, who succeeded Milligan when he retired after the 2018 season, said she cherished the opportunity to have him as a mentor for the brief time that she did.
Though their personalities differed somewhat, they envisioned common goals for the girls they coached, and Coleman hopes to carry Milligan’s legacy forward with more than just a name on the scoreboard.
“I loved him as the human that he was,” she said. “We will never let him be forgotten here. It’s his home; it’s his house. That’s how we need to play.”
Russ Milligan Field is just the second athletic facility at the school to be named in honor of a member of the Center Grove athletic community. Taking such a rare action for Milligan, Zwitt noted, was every bit as much about the personal imprint that he left on others as it was about the championship banners gracing the outfield wall.
“He and I had a lot of conversations about anything but softball,” Zwitt said. “There was more to the man than just putting a coaching cap on. … He was a guy that was deep, very deep.”
Russ Milligan was indeed a very multi-layered person, but to those that knew him best, there was one layer that mattered the most. One that had little to do with softball.
That layer was the reason so many turned out to pay tribute to the man on Saturday morning.
“It reminds me of how valuable his love was — and not just to myself, but to his community,” Alisha Milligan said after exchanging hugs and conversation with many of those who came. “I’m humbled in its presence.”
