By: Trey Daly

What a crazy year it has been, but baseball is finally here! Today we traveled out to Arden, North Carolina to sit down with first year Head Coach Wesley King. Coach King might be in his first stint at Christ School, but he’s no stranger to North Carolina baseball.. Hear more about the exciting 2021 season ahead.

How has the transition been to Christ School? 
The transition has been pretty smooth. We have a tremendous administration that has helped me with all of the things to get me up to speed, and I am still learning new stuff daily as well.

What are the perks of coaching at such a prestigious school in Asheville, North Carolina?  
Everyone in our community is pulling in the same direction academically and athletically. Getting to work alongside colleagues and kids from all over the country and around the world.

How has your club adapted to all the 2021 “protocols” with Covid-19? 
From the beginning, we have talked about the things we can control each day and what we can do to keep ourselves healthy and to keep moving forward. Our Christ school leadership has done a great job of taking the protocols and implementing things daily to allow us to be in person and thriving as a school.

What has your message been to your club after the stoppage of play in 2020? 
Do not take anything for granted. Be positive each day in everything you do.

What are the strength of your 2021 club? 
Player Leadership. We have 6 seniors who all are great young men who have been helping lead us since Sept. 1.  Our pitching staff will be able to offer multiple looks and we will have really good team speed.

Who are you looking to lead the charge this year? 
Andrew Grande, SR, SS/3rd(Univ. of Rice/Pro Prospect), Garrett Clapsaddle, SR, C/P(US Merchant Marine commit), Michael Posse, JR,  P/Utility (UNCW Commit), Mickey Meguiar, SR, OF/P,

Looking at your schedule, what are some of the big games? 
Each game is important in the whole body of work, but obviously the opening game at Cannon School will be a big one. Three game series with Dominion Christian at Lakepoint, Knoxville Christian, Webb School, ACA, and Charlotte Christian twice.

What’s one thing most people don’t know about Christ School Baseball? 
Our school was founded in 1900 and baseball was the first sport played here.  Three weeks after the school’s founding, the baseball team beat a team from in town 10-8 as the first win at the school.  Also of note is that our school mascot, the “Greenies” originated from the baseball program.  In 1917 the baseball team defeated Bingham Military Academy 2-1 to win the Western Carolina baseball championship.  As a reward, the team earned new uniforms, which were all green.  Since then, all Christ School athletic teams have been known as The Greenies.

Looking through your track record, you have done a great job of building programs. Coming into Christ School, they have had some success.. What are your personal goals for the program? 
I just want our guys to make sure they play the game the right way with great energy and passion.  We have spoken about competing hard each and every day and having fun along the journey.  Finally, I just want us to be playing our best baseball at the end of the season to be in position to make a deep legitimate run in the state playoffs.

Describe your typical “game day” as the Head Coach of Christ School?
I will teach my classes until around 2:30 on most days, and then transition to our athletic complex. During my lunch is when I will work on scouting reports, and plans for our games for that week. Once down to the baseball complex our athletic administration staff and baseball coaches are working hard to set everything up for a home game or preparing to get the team loaded onto our buses for an away game. It takes a bunch of people working together to get things done. Fortunately, we have tremendous support and that makes a huge difference.

Thank you Coach King for the time and insight on the 2021 Christ School Greenies.. Stay tuned for more programs around the region in the upcoming weeks…