Varsity baseball head coach, Kevin Tysinger, has been with the program for 23 years but is stepping down after this final season. Coach Tysinger has had a significant impact on the team over the years and is finally saying goodbye to the head coaching position.

“I want to see my daughter play soccer,” Tysinger said. “Yeah, I mean, I love doing what I do. I’ve had a lot of fun, I’ve had some success, but it’s time for me to be dad because I won’t be able to get these years back.”

It was a difficult decision for Tysinger because he loves all of the aspects of coaching and baseball. He will especially miss getting to see the team grow.

“I like watching the team get better as the years go by watching them have individual success. And then some of them, of course, have gotten on to the next level,” Tysinger said. “And then also, you know, we’ve had some fun years where we didn’t win a lot of games. But we’ve had some really good teams where we went to the state semifinals a couple of years back.”

All the teams over the years have had a lot of respect for Tysinger as a coach and as a role model. A lot of players have learned how to be better on and off the field including senior varsity baseball player Drew Bowman.

“I’ve known Tysinger for a long time since I was a little kid, and growing up he was a good coach. Throughout my past three years of being on varsity, he’s really been a good mentor and a good leader as a coach,” Bowman said. “I mean, he teaches us to be on time for everything and do the right things. And I feel like that plays a role not only for me but for my teammates and we kind of feed off of how he coaches.”

Another player who has a lot of respect for Coach Tysinger is sophomore Anson Wolter who’s on the varsity baseball team.

“He’s reminded me to stay on top of my grades, to be nice, to stay out of trouble,” Wolter said.

As the season gets into full swing, the team and the coaches start to decide what their hopes are for this season. As a coach, Tysinger likes to win games, but he is more focused on the improvement of players and the learning aspect of the game.

“Again I just want the guys to have fun. I want them to be successful. Whether that means getting wins or just means individually for each one of them,” Tysinger said. “I think we’ve got a really good group that seems to get along well together.”

The players on the team are prepared and ready for the season. Because of the seniors and Tysinger, this is going to be a special year for everybody on the team.

“I’m excited, I think we’re gonna have a good team. I’m ready to get going,” Bowman said. “I think we’re really versatile, we got guys that can play anywhere, we hit well, and I think we got guys that pitch and we have good depth.”

The team this year is very special to Tysinger, and he is really grateful for one more opportunity to be the coach of this group. 

“Man, they’re awesome, it’s a great group, it really is. I mean, if I was gonna have to pick, you know, a group supposedly to go out on, this would be it because it’s a good group, it’s fun,” Tysinger said.

Wolter is thankful for Coach Tysinger because of all the things that he has done for him over the past couple of seasons.

“I will miss Tysinger because he’s been the head coach for me for the past few years and he’s done a lot to help me in baseball,” Wolter said.

Bowman shares a lot of the same gratitude for Tysinger as Wolter does and has a few words for Tysinger for this final run. 

“Just thank you for making the past three years a really great experience for me. Harrisonburg will definitely miss you,” Bowman said.