All in the ‘Darnell’ family

Mike Darnell sits in the bleachers watching his daughters compete in athletics for Bishop High School, and what makes this noteworthy is that he’s calm, cool and collected.

 

That’s just the opposite of when Darnell is in the dugout as coach of the Bishops’ baseball team when he’s debating an umpire, instructing a player or savoring a victory.

 

“I don’t say much when I’m in the stands,” Darnell said. “I learned that from my father (Joe). You didn’t even know he was at the game. That’s how quiet he was. All I ask for is for them to play hard, and give it all they have. Other than that, sports are fun time.”

 

Sports are also family time for Darnell and his wife Renee. They spend more time at the diamond than jewelers.

 

But they aren’t done with athletics just yet. Their oldest daughter, Emma, is about to begin her final year at BE. She’s a senior who plays volleyball in the fall and soccer in the spring.

 

Their other daughter, Lyla, is beginning her junior year at BE. She plays on the lacrosse team, which is among the best teams in the country.

 

Darnell is about to experience a reality check in the next two years as his daughters wrap up high school life.

 

“It’s super hard to believe that Emma is a senior and Lyla is a junior,” Darnell said. “You ask yourself: How did this happen? You wonder? When are they going to start growing? And just like that, they are grown up.”

 

Darnell has been a coach for 24 years with 20 of those years at Bishop England. He has guided the Bishops to six state championships in a distinguished career.

 

You don’t have to watch the movie “Field of Dreams” to realize how strong of a bond sports can have on a father and son. And it’s no different for Darnell. His father was known as Santa Claus to hundreds, if not thousands of kids in the Lowcountry. He passed away in 2014 after a courageous battle against Lou Gehrig’s disease. Three years later, BE’s 2017 state championship felt a little empty so coach Darnell had a state championship medal made for his father.

 

“He had two boys, and we were all about sports,” Darnell said. “But with the girls playing sports, it was a different with him. He didn’t care who won or lost because he was so proud just to watch them, to see them accomplish goals.”

 

Emma will wrap up her career in the spring when she plays for the BE soccer team. She is a goalkeeper, and is quite good as she received all-state honors last spring.

 

That will be her final athletic endeavor.

 

“Emma probably had a chance to play at a smaller school,” Darnell said. “But she’s not that type of kid,” Darnell said. “We visited campuses and went to football games at places like Alabama, Auburn and Clemson. She wants to go where she can be knee deep in hoopla, where she can be in the mix.”