CENTERBURG – For the first time in 22 years, someone other than Joe Smith will be coaching the Centerburg baseball team.
But athletic director Rich Porter and the school’s administration didn’t have to look all that far to find his replacement. Josh Moss, who served as an assistant under Smith for three seasons, was approved to be the next baseball coach at the July 12 school board meeting.
“I’m really excited,” Moss said. “My kids go to Centerburg; we live in the district. I coached under Joe for three years. To be the guy that follows him … it just means that much more. I’ve got a lot of respect for Coach Joe. He’s a great guy and he’s done it the right way for a long time.”
Porter said Moss was an easy choice.
“He was on our staff as an assistant,” Porter said. “He lives in Centerburg and his kids are in the district. He’s a baseball guy. I really liked what he did when he was on our staff as an assistant, and it just felt like the right fit right now.”
Moss has been groomed by some of the area’s best. Aside from Smith, he spent last season as the pitching coach at East Knox under Randy Baugher. He helped the Bulldogs make history by winning their first district championship.
“What he’s done with his tenure there – the games they’ve won and the talent that’s come through there,” Moss said. “What we did this year with a young team – I think it’s been really great for me just to learn from guys that have been doing it for a while and have had success.”
He also spent a couple of seasons at his alma mater, Northridge, under Jeff Wilson.
“Jeff Wilson was the guy that turned things around at Northridge,” Moss said. “I was in the military after college. So, there was a six-, seven-year window where I was really disconnected with Central Ohio sports.
“But getting with Jeff Wilson at Northridge and seeing him win a couple of district titles and take teams to regional … I really learned a lot from him just about coaching and running a program.”
Under Smith, he got different guidance.
“Joe was really the first coach that gave me a ton of responsibility and gave me the power to coach,” Moss said. “He just said, ‘This is your responsibility. Implement what you want to do and that’s what we’re going to go with.'”
Moss served as Smith’s hitting coach with longtime assistant Brad Beeler firmly entrenched as the pitching coach. Moss thinks that his well-rounded background will help him as a head coach.
“I’m always trying to find ways to add things to my toolbox,” Moss said. “Our travel program has been able to work with Mike Stafford, who’s the former pitching coach at Ohio State. So, for the last two years I’ve just been working side-by-side with him whenever he’s been working with pitchers. I knew that was my weakest skillset as a coach, so I’ve tried to do everything I can to just soak up what he teaches about pitching from a development standpoint.”
Moss wants to be involved in all areas of the program – from his team all the way down to the youth teams.
“The program is in a great place,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’ve got to be the guy to come in and shake things up or change things. I would like to get more kids playing summer baseball or travel baseball. I would really like to see what I can do to grow the middle school and youth program and getting more kids involved in Trojan baseball.”
