By MIKE KESSINGER

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mkessinger@gctelegram.com

Kim Sleep had no idea what was coming.

As she stood at home plate with Garden City High School softball coach John Ford and the program's 2008 Hall of Fame inductee Jill Duesing, Sleep waited as the ceremony proceeded.

She had been left out in knowing as the Lady Buffaloes associate head coach that she too would be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

As soon as public address announcer Brian Dinkle started to run down a list of accomplishments of the program has gone through in its 15 years of existence, Sleep gave Ford a slight bump as she caught on to what was happening.

"It took me totally by surprise," Sleep said. "I knew we were here for Jill, but I had no idea I was going into the Hall of Fame."

Since the Garden City High School softball program started in 1994, Sleep has been through it all. With this being the 15th year of the program, and Duesing being the sixth player put into the Hall of Fame, Ford felt it was time to honor Sleep with the induction.

"I knew Jill was going in," Ford said. "Jill was a fabulous player when she was here. She was awesome. As far as Kim, she's a person I admire for her coolness, poise, her great common sense and her intuition. She's a really, really good friend. She's been a pillar in our program."

When the program started, Ford was looking for a coach who would be with the team for a long time. He found that in Sleep.

"She always had her baseball hat on and she was just a ball player," Ford said remembering when he hired Sleep. "I thought 'you know what, maybe I'll ask her to coach.' I asked her to coach, and she said she would. She's got basically the same range I do."

With her husband Randy and children Trey and Taylor standing behind the back stop behind home plate, Sleep was given a framed Garden City jersey along with Duesing receiving hers.

Sleep had not imagined standing next to Duesing, a two-time first-team Class 6A All-State pick in 2001 and 2002. But it was one she wasn't about to not let herself enjoy.

"Standing there with Jill, I started thinking back to all the girls and all the years and all the good times," Sleep said. "I just love all the kids and love being around being around them."