Clint Coleman said he consistently talked about priorities in the preseason meetings with the Walton-Verona Bearcats baseball team.
Coleman said he made it clear his relationship with God is his top priority, then family with everything else falling underneath that. But recently, Coleman said his son wished he’d come watch him and his team play more. That led to Coleman’s decision to step down as the head baseball coach of the Bearcats.
“Certainly during baseball season, baseball takes high priority. But it never replaces the relationship with God and with my family,” Coleman said. “While I’m stepping down from coaching high school baseball, I am looking forward to shifting my priorities from the little bit higher level to the lower level of baseball and just put more time and effort with (my son) and his team.”
Coleman came on staff as an assistant in 2001 before taking over the program in 2016. He served as head coach for eight seasons including the 2020 season that the Coronarvirus-2019 pandemic wiped out.
“It’s one of those things where everyone looks at wins and losses and always thinks about those things,” said Kyle Bennett, Walton-Verona Director of Athletics. “He had such a major impact on all the kids he coached. You can not find a better person. That’s the God’s honest truth. He’s a great human being. The things they did on and off the field. He’s been nothing but first class.”
The Bearcats finished 139-72-3 in his tenure as head coach. Walton-Verona made the 8th Region Tournament six times, including back-to-back trips to the region semis the past two seasons. His tenure also included a 32nd District championship in 2021.
Walton-Verona won at least 22 games in each of the past three seasons including a 26-8 mark this past year and finished All “A” State runner-up for the second time in three years. The 26 wins were the most in a single season since 2005. The Bearcats were pretty much a given for the All “A” title in the region under Coleman, winning six All “A” 8th Region crowns in eight years.
“I love to win and all of the postseason accolades are great. But the most important thing to me and the reason I got into coaching is to build the relationships,” Coleman said. “Those kids that have graduated and moved on, the fact that they want to come back and be a part of the program to me is just a really cool thing. I tried to build into those men what it means to be good men, good fathers. Those character traits are bigger than just being a winning team although we’ve had a lot of success.”
Coleman had a lot to say about the community support. He graduated from Walton-Verona in 1993 after leading the Bearcats to their last baseball region championship.
“I have way too many people to thank for their support,” Coleman said. “But the administration with the principals I’ve had and Kyle Bennett, you hear stories about other places. I feel like Walton-Verona is a special place to coach and to teach. Just the support at all levels including the parents has been tremendous throughout the years.”
The opening has not been posted on the Kentucky High School Athletic Association web site as of yet. But the return of seniors Bryce Corpus, Julian Dixon and Mason Howard among others paired with the recent success should attract quality candidates.
