Being away from baseball hasn”t diminished Stacy Hester”s love for the sport.
Now he hopes his latest opportunity will help him get a chance to return to the game he loves.
Last week, Hester accepted the head coaching position with the Golden Triangle Jets of the Cotton States Baseball League”s North Division.
The league, which will begin its third season June 4, is a five-team, summer collegiate wood bat league designed to prepare college players with remaining college eligibility for professional baseball.
“It is going to be a fun experience,” said Hester, who spent 18 years as baseball coach at New Hope High School. “They called me and asked me if I wanted to coach in this thing, and they sounded like they would love to have me. It is encouraging when someone says they want you.”
New Hope won 551 games in Hester”s 18 years as coach. It won state titles in 1996, ”98, and 2003, six North Half state titles, advanced to nine Final Fours since 1995, and was nationally ranked seven times.
In 1996, the Trojans set a national record and a state of Mississippi record for wins went they went 43-0. In 1996-97, New Hope won 51 consecutive games, including 68 straight against teams from the state of Mississippi.
In May 2009, Lowndes County School District Superintendent Mike Halford recommended Hester not be retained as New Hope High baseball coach. The school board then voted 5-0 to accept Halford”s recommendation.
In October 2010, Hester and former New Hope High Principal Lynn Wright filed suit in federal court against the Lowndes County School District. They are asking for actual damages, court costs, and their jobs back.
The district released Wright and Hester in May for the improper purchase of a $15,000 lawnmower in 2007 to cut the grass at New Hope High athletic facilities.
Sam Creekmore, owner of the CSBL North Division, said Hester”s lawsuit wasn”t a concern in the decision to hire Hester for the paid coaching position.
“We wanted to find a proven coach with a lot of success in his history that we could add to the league,” Creekmore said. “We asked other coaches and they recommended coach Hester. We are proud to have him. He has an incredible baseball history.”
Creekmore said the league considered Hester as a coach when it first organized. He said Hester”s experience in high school and with the Junior Sunbelt Classic, an annual travel team of juniors from the state of Mississippi that attends a tournament in Oklahoma, makes him an ideal fit.
Hester said it wasn”t a hard decision to accept the position. He said baseball is still a important part in his life, and his primary consideration was making sure the time needed to coach the team wouldn”t take away from family concerns.
Hester hopes the chance to get back on the field will help him change perceptions some people might have of him.
“Hopefully it is something I can build on,” Hester said. “Hopefully we”re going to have some good kids from the area who will go and play well.”
Hester will replace Gregg Tucker of Baldwyn High School, who coached the Jets last season. The hiring of Hester filled the fourth of the league”s five head coaching slots. Creekmore said the league is working to fill its final position.
Creekmore said the league will continue to play nearly all of its games at Legion Field at the New Albany Sportsplex. He said plans are in the works to play games at Mississippi State and at the University of Mississippi.
Last year, the league played at New Hope High in an attempt to broaden interest and to increase its fanbase.
The league also has played games in Fulton and in Corinth.
Creekmore also said the league continues to look for players for this season. He said the league is ahead of its pace to fill 80 roster spots for its five teams. He said graduating high school seniors who have signed a letter of intent to play at a two- or four-year school and current freshman, sophomores, or juniors in college can apply online at www.msselectsports.com or www.cottonstatesleague.com, or call Gary Darby at 662-266-5103.
Creekmore said the league has the final say about where players will be assigned. He said every effort will be made to pair a player with a coach or with a team of his choice.
New Hope High product and Delta State pitcher Brent Hallmark was one of several players with local ties to play in the league last season.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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