There’ll be a new head coach leading the Greyhounds baseball program next spring.
Mike Paulk, who has been on staff with the program since the 2015 season with duties that have included handling the program’s pitchers and catchers, has assumed the duties of head coach.
Paulk follows head coach Jason Page who stepped aside as of the early part of the summer, just after the school year ended.
“It just felt like the right time,” said Page, who said he is looking forward to being a fan of his own family’s athletic pursuits as he and his wife’s oldest child is part of the Greyhounds golf team.
“My oldest son has three more years of high school left. I’m looking forward to being able to watch and be a fan of my son,” Page said. “It’s a good time for me to be able to go watch him.”
It goes without saying that Page and his family won’t be absent from the JCHS athletic fields.
“We’ll still be supportive of all the athletics and continue to be here at Jones County; I love Jones County. Certainly, there was nothing I felt bad about,” Page said. “The program will be in good hands. The guys will have some continuity with them knowing (Coach Paulk) as he takes over. I think he’ll do a great job.”
Page will remain at JCHS as a special education teacher and will also continue assisting with game operations in the press box at Greyhound football games.
Paulk is already excited about what lies ahead for the Greyhounds.
“I’m very excited. I’ve been here with the program now for six years. I’m just excited to continue some of the tradition as well as try to make some changes so we can be better in the way that we conduct ourselves, practice and the way we play and get our guys in the best possible position to win and progress far in the playoffs,” Paulk said.
Paulk, who has previous head coaching experience at Pelham, will have the benefit of having already built relationships with current players as an assistant. That lack of learning curve coming from coaches and players having to get to know one another should help, Paulk says.
“That’ll be tremendous. Usually, when someone new comes in, it might take them a year,” Paulk said. “I’ve been with the program long enough to where you see guys and where they are now and have an idea of what is coming up. That gives us an advantage where the program does not have to go through the cyclical things of beginning all over again. I’ve been with the program long enough to where I can see what needs to happen.”
Paulk, who said in addition to handling pitchers, catchers the calling pitchers from the dugout was the ‘guy driving the threewheeler around the infield,’ concedes that with his new role, delegation to what he previous coached will be needed going forward.
“I’ll have to delegate some of that and oversee the team as a whole,” Paulk said.
And with Paulk having personally worked with Greyhounds pitchers, he was a pretty good idea of what JCHS should have pitching-wise next season.
“I know the talent that we have. I know the drive that a lot of our guys have. What’s the most exciting thing for me is to be able to put them in position that they can be excited about the program and be in a position to perform at their highest ability,” Paulk said. “For me, what’s most exciting is where a player is equipped and ready, they are prepared and they execute in a game in a pressure situation. When you get to that moment of truth and that player performs, that’s what excites you the most.”
