CALEDONIA — Andy Finch hopes to be in it for the long haul.
Finch already has served in a number of coaching roles at Caledonia High School. Two years ago, he served as girls basketball coach. He also has worked as assistant varsity baseball coach under John Wilson and as the middle school baseball coach.
This season, though, Finch is returning to a team he was a part of in his first three years at the school. Back then, Finch served as assistant coach to Robin Elmore. Now, Finch will lead the Caledonia High slow- and fast-pitch programs with an eye on providing stability and building on the program’s success.
“It is home to me, which is one reason why I am invested in it,” said Finch, who was born and raised in Caledonia and attended Caledonia High. “I see the girls and I was there 20 years ago. I didn’t play softball, but I was walking the same halls. I had some of the same teachers, and some of the coaches are still here.”
Not only did Finch attend Caledonia High, but his parents also still live in town and his kids go to school in Caledonia.
Finch hopes the success of Caledonia High’s fast-pitch program can carry over to the slow-pitch team. In 2018, the Caledonia High fast-pitch team went 18-5 and lost to Tishomingo County in the second round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A playoffs.
“I am really excited about it,” Finch said. “We have a lot of good talent here at Caledonia. The fast-pitch team in the past has several good, winning seasons and gone deep in the playoffs. We are just looking to go a little further this year.”
Finch hopes his team will take pride in focus, effort, and discipline. If they do, he feels confident those ingredients will lead to success.
Sophomore outfielder Aimee George agrees. She is preparing for her fourth season in slow-pitch softball. So far, she has seen plenty of improvement.
Four years in slow-pitch and three years in fast-pitch
“It is already better how he is doing it with all of the new drills and everything he is putting together that we didn’t do when he wasn’t here,” George said. “You get so much done so much quicker. We have improved a lot.”
George feels the Lady Confederates are young but they have good experience. She said some of the players on the slow-pitch team will be different because some of the school’s fast-pitch players are involved in other sports.
George said the team still has things to work on, but she feels the Lady Confederates will be a good team when they get their hitting down.
Finch hopes hitting is part of a formula that includes making the routine plays and showing a lot of hard work and hustle. He wants the Lady Confederates to take a “blue-collar” approach to the game.
“We want to have teams know when they come to Caledonia that they’re going to be in a dogfight and our players are going to play hard and are not going to make mistakes,” Finch said.
In addition to Finch taking over, Caledonia is making plenty of changes to the softball facility. The press box/concession stand, dugouts, and storage sheds have been painted. The outfield fence was re-done. New chain-link fencing has been put up. Next week, Finch said the infield will be graded and new material will be put down.
“I am here for the long run,” Finch said. “Like I said, I was born and raised here. I am not going anywhere. I see these girls as my own. I tell them all of the time, I have two boys and 20-some-odd girls, and I am going to treat you like my own child. I tell them you will be treated fairly, you will be told the truth, and nothing will be held from you. By doing that, you gain the respect from them and they respect you back, too.”
Caledonia will play New Hope in a scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 4. Caledonia will kick off the regular season in a classic tournament at Hamilton High. The home opener will be Aug. 14. Columbus, Itawamba Agricultural, and New Hope will join Caledonia for a tournament.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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