LAND O' LAKES, Fla. - Back to school time naturally leads to what I did over the summer stories.

Academy at the Lakes softball coach Elizabeth Munn has a really good one.

Softball tournaments? No. Beach vacation? No. Munn spent her summer supporting the red, white and blue.

"In her spare time, she serves her country,” AATL Athletic Director Tom Haslam said.

Munn left her cozy confines of Academy at the Lakes and traded in her Wildcats uniform for an Army uniform. The blue and white swapped for camo.

“Any uniform you put on you take pride in what you’re doing in your country, but it is special when put that on,” Munn said.

“She doesn’t have to do that, but she’s got a passion for that and that’s the kind of person she is,” Haslam said.

Coming off a Covid-shortened softball season, her first with the Wildcats, Munn felt a tug at her patriotic heart. So she packed her bags and headed to Fort Jackson in South Carolina.

“It was exciting all around,” Munn said.

Days were spent training, on the range and fulfilling a number of duties.

“I decided to join because I wanted to serve the country, i wanted to do something better and it’s always been on the back of my mind,” she said.

Munn came away from her experience with a greater appreciation for the military. And also one for her job as a P.E. teacher and softball coach. Munn inherited a Wildcats program that was coming off back-to-back state championships, but one that had graduated its top talent. Working with a young team, Munn was in the midst of putting her stamp on the program when the pandemic shut everything down.

“When something’s taken from you, quickly, like that, you appreciate everything more,” Munn said.

“She’s a tough cookie,” Haslam said. “And, you know, in sports you have to be tough. Especially when you’re a young team and you’re going to take your lumps, you have to have some resilience. And she teaches them all that.”

It’s not just X’s and O’s for Munn. She’s teaching her players so much more than softball. Her service to the country is giving them a life lesson in sacrifice.

“I’m happy I did it,” she said. “I love serving our country and it’s very rewarding in so many ways.

“You know you’re a part of something bigger and there’s a bigger plan out there.”