Ballinger announces staff, tryouts for Cosby baseball

COSBY — According to the TSSAA, there is a new rule that says high school baseball programs can have up to eight fall practices.

New Cosby coach Blake Ballinger plans to take advantage of that, as he announced tryout dates recently.

He has already started working on the field, and with the tryouts set up, Ballinger is eager to begin the process of building his iteration of the Cosby baseball program.

But before digging into the first glimpse at his new players, Ballinger expressed his thoughts on his coaching staff.

He will be helped by his dad, Brian Ballinger, as well as Jeremy Norris.

“During high school, I helped my dad coach a younger team,” Ballinger said. “He coached me all my life, and I’ve helped with several travel teams too. He’s really knowledgeable with pitching, so he’ll help me with that since I have to focus on hitting too.

“And Jeremy, he’s a great guy, and I look forward to coaching with him. He’s in line with what we want to accomplish.”

As far as tryouts are concerned, the first one will be on Aug. 31.

Then from Sept. 3 through Sept. 7 and on Sept. 9 and 10, there will be open practices for guys who make the team.

Ballinger emphasized that the September dates are also available for anyone who did not get to try out on the 31st, but he added that if none of those dates work, there will be other opportunities.

“If you show promise, we’ll give you a chance,” he said. “We want as many guys as we can get. And underclassmen especially, if you haven’t played but want to give it a shot, or have played a little in the past, we’ll give you a chance.”

To that end, Ballinger also explained that while the Eagles may have returners trying out at multiple positions, nothing is guaranteed.

“I really want to emphasize that everyone is coming in with a clean slate,” he said. “I’m going to be fair and give everyone an equal chance to prove themselves. Nothing is earned in my eyes right now.

“For guys that have been on the team before, I need to see it before I give them a position to play. I’m a players coach, so if they need to talk, they can talk to me about anything.”

During the tryouts themselves, Ballinger said there will be individual periods to focus on hitting, outfield work, infield work and pitching.

“And if you play all of those, you can try out at all of them,” he said.

The pitching side will include short bullpen sessions, while the infield and outfield work will focus on fly balls, grounders and throwing.

“Being a small school, I want to emphasize that for any of the guys that try out, if you can pitch or have in the past, we want that,” Ballinger said.

“I just want guys to come in and give it their best. I expect to see guys who are really excited to play baseball and help us win.”