Softball players and coaches in our area know Karen Booker very well. Whether at Perquimans or Currituck, Booker brought success to the programs.

Now, she'll be looking to enjoy some other activities.

Brett A. Clark/The Daily Advance (ENLARGE)

Karen Booker will finish her coaching career with Currituck's state playoff run, which starts tonight against Wilson Hunt.

When the Lady Knights' playoff run is over, Booker will say goodbye to the dugout, letting someone else take over as coach.

"I really was going to stop at the end of last year, because I was really tired, I was really wore out physically," Booker said. "(Assistant coach) Ed Bailey talked me into staying one more year. We had kind of started with Erin (Buchan) and Ashley (Craft) as freshmen on the varsity team, so I decided to stay one more year."

Another year, another playoff berth. The Lady Knights will play host to Hunt tonight at 6 p.m. It begins yet another trip to the state tournament for a Booker-led team.

"She's done an outstanding job everywhere she's been," Currituck AD Rodney Kight said. "She's a proven winner. The thing that impresses me most is that she demands a lot from her girls, but they all seem to truly respect her — which doesn't always go hand in hand."

Booker has spent the last 9 1-2 years at Currituck after 10 1-2 years at Perquimans, winning a state title in 1997 with the Lady Pirates.

Former Perquimans athletic director and current Edenton football coach Bob Turner says that Booker always gave her teams the best possible chance to be successful.

"What I can remember was the competitive person she was," Turner said. "As an AD, you always want your coaches to always be on top of things and give their teams the chance to win everything they can. She always had her teams sharp and always had a competitive nature to her."

She brought that spirit to Currituck, where she impressed Kight with her instructional skills as well.

"I think she's one of the most organized coaches at practice," Kight said. "When she sets up her practice, it's fast paced and there's a purpose to every drill. Everything is moving constantly."

It was that edge that impressed Erin Wilson, a member of the 2002 Lady Knights who reached the state final four.

"She was probably one of the most disciplined coaches I've had, besides college, of course," Wilson said. "But she did get me prepared for that.

"We were the last team to go to the final four at state. She definitely turned around the program. I definitely enjoyed playing for her."

Booker has enjoyed coaching in the area for the last 20 years.

"I had a wonderful time at both places," Booker said. "I have met some wonderful kids, as well as parents, and had a lot of fun. You learn as much from them, hopefully, as they learn from you."

Learning from Booker was one of the reasons senior Rachel Bonds likes playing for Booker.

"We all know that it's coming from her heart and that she's in it to win it," Bonds said. "But even though winning is what we would all like to do, she likes to teach us a lot about (the game) as the season goes along."

Craft says that Booker is more concerned with building character in her players than about simply winning. She believes the coach fills multiple roles in the lives of her players.

"There's six seniors and most of us have been with her for the past four years, so it's more than just a coach-player kind of thing," Craft said. "A lot of my teammates would say she's more than a coach to all of us. She's a parent, a teacher, a friend — she's always been there."

While she will still be a teacher, she will not be their coach next year. She will spend the summer in Brazil this year helping to build a church. She also looks forward to being able to visit family more in the future.

"I live a thousand miles away from my family," Booker said. "A lot of times I just don't get to go to them or get to visit them like I want to because I'm so involved in everything. I just want to take more time for that."