Morgan Deal calls them “her children.”

When she sees them filing into her United States history classroom at Norview Middle School in Norfolk, Va., she greets each and every one of them with her infectious, beaming smile.

Deal has long had a knack of endearing herself to people of all ages, but middle schoolers in particular.

All her “children” listen to her lessons with rapt attention.

History has long been a passion for Deal, 25, a 2014 graduate of Karns City High School.

So has softball.

Now, Deal is pursuing both of her loves at Norview.

Deal was named Norview Middle School softball coach Tuesday.

“The best part about it is some of these kids are going to be students I either had or I'm going to have,” Deal said. “I'm going to be able to watch them grow.”

Deal has already had a hand in molding the young people in Norfolk.

She left rural Western Pennsylvania for the urban sprawl of Norfolk and started teaching at Norview in 2019, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc with every aspect of life.

Deal, who earned her master's degree at Slippery Rock University, was as honest as Abe Lincoln when describing the culture shock she experienced starting a new job in a strange land.

“I've never experienced anything like the diversity that I've experienced here,” Deal said. “When I moved here, I was a mess, but I needed to get away from that small place. I didn't realize how much of a different world it is out there.”

Deal adjusted quickly, even through the quarantine and teaching virtually.

It was difficult. She knew no one and was isolated in her Virginia Beach home.

But she found solace where she often had in the past — on the softball field.

She joined the Club Waka softball league and buried herself in the sport again.

Deal knows more than anyone how much softball can salve sadness, loneliness and uncertainty.

She wants to provide that escape to “her children” on the middle school softball field.

“I have children that are sixth-graders who have to get their other siblings on the bus,” Deal said. “These kids have to grow up so much faster than I did. I think that makes me more excited to be coaching because this is an area where gangs are prevalent, violence is prevalent, and being able to coach, that's an extra two hours, plus games, where I get to keep these children away from that.”

In fact when Deal told people familiar with Norfolk that she was teaching there, they try to warn her off.

Deal isn't having any of it.

“When I tell people I teach in Norfolk, everyone down here looks at me and goes, 'Girl, you're crazy. You must be crazy to teach in Norfolk.' And you know what, I love teaching in Norfolk. I don't think I could ever go anywhere else.”

Between the lines, few have as much knowledge of softball as Deal.

She's played since a young age and coached it for the Pittsburgh Power travel team before moving to Virginia.

During her playing days at Karns City and then at Butler County Community College, Deal was a gladiator on the field.

She played solid defense at second base and had a potent bat to go with her glove.

Deal still plays. She formed a team in the Club Waka Virginia Beach softball league and has won back-to-back championships.

She's now the commissioner of the league.

“It's funny because I'm now in charge of 150 adults, too,” Deal said, chuckling.

“I absolutely cannot stop playing softball. I can't stay away from it,” Deal added. “And that's what I want for these girls at this age. It's done so much for me and I'm excited about putting that energy back into it.”

Deal said she hopes softball can comfort her “children” like it has comforted her over the years.

The struggles some of the kids she will coach are going through, though, pales in certain ways to what Deal had to overcome, she said.

“I had divorced parents and that was tough,” Deal said. “I've been through a lot of things, but I never had to worry about food on the table. I never had to worry about transportation. I never had to worry about money. But my children, school is a meal for them. Some of them wake up in the morning and they go to school because they know they can eat there.”

Middle school softball season is in the fall in Virginia and Deal has already begun planning and recruiting her new team.

She wants to leave her mark as badly on the softball field with her children as she already has in the classroom.

“I feel like getting these girls young, I have the opportunity to show them, 'Hey, this is softball,'” Deal said. “I grew up with the sport. It's molded and shaped me.

“I feel like there's so many lives here that I've already had an impact on,” she added. “And now I have all these little children and I get to coach them. It's just incredible because I know I'm impacting their lives. Sometimes I impact their lives just by giving them a pencil or giving them a hug. Now I get to share both or my passions with them.”