July 21, 2011
Prep Baseball: Former Centre assistant Wynn hired as Boyle coach
Kyle Wynn was all set to start a new life in Canada, but now he can't wait to get back to Danville.
Wynn was making plans to work at a baseball academy north of the border after he was unsuccessful in his bid to get the coaching job at Boyle County earlier this month, but it didn't take him long to change those plans once Boyle called him back this week.
Wynn was making plans to work at a baseball academy north of the border after he was unsuccessful in his bid to get the coaching job at Boyle County earlier this month, but it didn't take him long to change those plans once Boyle called him back this week.
"That was the job I wanted from the get-go if it ever came open," Wynn said Wednesday.
The former Centre College assistant coach was hired Wednesday by Boyle after Jeremy Shope, the Mercer County coach who took the job last week, changed his mind and resigned earlier this week.
"I'm very excited," Wynn said. "I've always wanted to stay in the Danville area, and I've gotten to know some people over at Boyle as well."
Boyle athletics director Chris LeMonds said the school is excited to have Wynn as well.
"Talking to him, you can tell he's got a passion for the game and wants to see Boyle succeed," LeMonds said.
Wynn has spent the last six years as an assistant at Centre, but he had already resigned his position there and planned to make a change of some kind. He is coaching a collegiate summer league team and teaching at a baseball academy in Okotoks, Alberta, and he said he had accepted an offer to remain there as a full-time instructor after his first attempt to get the Boyle job failed.
"Within the last two weeks here, I told (Centre coach) Mike (Pritchard) I was ready for a change, and I was going to leave Centre and see what happened at Boyle and also in Canada," he said. "I was planning on staying in Canada once the (Boyle) position was filled."
Instead, he'll become a high school coach and teacher for the first time. Wynn graduated from Hanover College in 2005 with a degree in education, then came to work at Centre under Pritchard, who was an assistant coach at Hanover during the first three of Wynn's seasons there.
"I always thought in the back of my mind I wanted to get back into high school," he said. "I've kind of got a passion for that, and especially this summer, I knew if (the Boyle) position opened up I was very interested in that position as well."
Wynn was a three-year starter at first base and a four-year letterman at Hanover, where he was the team's most valuable player in 2004 and '05.
His experience as a head coach has come during summer baseball, but he also had a great deal of responsibility at Centre, where he was in charge of the offense, coached third base and took the lead in recruiting.
"Mike was as good a head coach as you could have as far as letting you run what you needed to," he said. "Mike was such a good mentor, and knowing him over last 10 years, that made it tough to leave Centre."
Pritchard and Wynn rebuilt a program that went 4-29 in 2004, the year Pritchard arrived. The Colonels have averaged 15.3 wins over the last seven seasons.
Wynn knows there isn't much rebuilding to do at Boyle, where the Rebels made the 12th Region Tournament in nine of 11 seasons and won two regional titles under David Camic.
"Coach Camic's body of work kind of speaks for itself," he said. "It'll be a lot different, because I don't think he left the cupboard bare by any means. only upside there and things can only get better."
The Rebels had only three seniors on this season's 22-11 team, and Wynn said he has seen enough future Boyle players at Centre camps to know that there is talent on the way up.
"I'm definitely excited about what's to come in the next few years," he said.
Wynn is a native of Fort Wayne, Ind., but he said he has come to enjoy living and working in Danville.
"When it came to teaching and coaching, even though I'm away from my family back in Fort Wayne, I knew if I wasn't back in Fort Wayne I wanted to stay in this area," he said.
He will remain in Alberta until his summer team, the Okotoks Dawgs, conclude their season in the provincial championships July 29-31, then return to Danville in for the Boyle faculty's first day of work Aug. 3.
"I'm looking forward to getting to address the team. Starting to show my face and meeting people around the Boyle County community is what I want to do as soon as I can," he said.
The former Centre College assistant coach was hired Wednesday by Boyle after Jeremy Shope, the Mercer County coach who took the job last week, changed his mind and resigned earlier this week.
"I'm very excited," Wynn said. "I've always wanted to stay in the Danville area, and I've gotten to know some people over at Boyle as well."
Boyle athletics director Chris LeMonds said the school is excited to have Wynn as well.
"Talking to him, you can tell he's got a passion for the game and wants to see Boyle succeed," LeMonds said.
Wynn has spent the last six years as an assistant at Centre, but he had already resigned his position there and planned to make a change of some kind. He is coaching a collegiate summer league team and teaching at a baseball academy in Okotoks, Alberta, and he said he had accepted an offer to remain there as a full-time instructor after his first attempt to get the Boyle job failed.
"Within the last two weeks here, I told (Centre coach) Mike (Pritchard) I was ready for a change, and I was going to leave Centre and see what happened at Boyle and also in Canada," he said. "I was planning on staying in Canada once the (Boyle) position was filled."
Instead, he'll become a high school coach and teacher for the first time. Wynn graduated from Hanover College in 2005 with a degree in education, then came to work at Centre under Pritchard, who was an assistant coach at Hanover during the first three of Wynn's seasons there.
"I always thought in the back of my mind I wanted to get back into high school," he said. "I've kind of got a passion for that, and especially this summer, I knew if (the Boyle) position opened up I was very interested in that position as well."
Wynn was a three-year starter at first base and a four-year letterman at Hanover, where he was the team's most valuable player in 2004 and '05.
His experience as a head coach has come during summer baseball, but he also had a great deal of responsibility at Centre, where he was in charge of the offense, coached third base and took the lead in recruiting.
"Mike was as good a head coach as you could have as far as letting you run what you needed to," he said. "Mike was such a good mentor, and knowing him over last 10 years, that made it tough to leave Centre."
Pritchard and Wynn rebuilt a program that went 4-29 in 2004, the year Pritchard arrived. The Colonels have averaged 15.3 wins over the last seven seasons.
Wynn knows there isn't much rebuilding to do at Boyle, where the Rebels made the 12th Region Tournament in nine of 11 seasons and won two regional titles under David Camic.
"Coach Camic's body of work kind of speaks for itself," he said. "It'll be a lot different, because I don't think he left the cupboard bare by any means. only upside there and things can only get better."
The Rebels had only three seniors on this season's 22-11 team, and Wynn said he has seen enough future Boyle players at Centre camps to know that there is talent on the way up.
"I'm definitely excited about what's to come in the next few years," he said.
Wynn is a native of Fort Wayne, Ind., but he said he has come to enjoy living and working in Danville.
"When it came to teaching and coaching, even though I'm away from my family back in Fort Wayne, I knew if I wasn't back in Fort Wayne I wanted to stay in this area," he said.
He will remain in Alberta until his summer team, the Okotoks Dawgs, conclude their season in the provincial championships July 29-31, then return to Danville in for the Boyle faculty's first day of work Aug. 3.
"I'm looking forward to getting to address the team. Starting to show my face and meeting people around the Boyle County community is what I want to do as soon as I can," he said.
