SULLIVAN TWP. — There’s no place in the world Jake Wright would rather be.
The Black River school board is expected to make Wright’s dream a reality Oct. 22 and accept athletic director Josh Calame’s recommendation for Wright to become baseball coach.
The 23-year-old Black River graduate and substitute teacher replaces Dan Kopronica, who resigned after compiling a 25-28-1 record over two seasons.
“It’s a dream come true,” Wright said. “I’ve known that I wanted to become a coach since I was a freshman in high school. It goes back to my childhood when I was the bat boy for the Black River teams that my uncle Steve (Ensign) was coaching.
“I feel so much pride for this school, and it’s so exciting and humbling to have this opportunity.”
Wright compiled a 29-15 record as the Pirates’ junior varsity coach. The Spencer Township resident was an honorable mention All-Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division outfielder as a senior in 2010, hitting .395 with five home runs and 24 RBIs.
Engaged to his high school sweetheart, Ashley Wine, and a father-to-be, Wright is aware the Pirates haven’t been serious contenders in the Patriot Athletic Conference.
“Our goal is to compete in every game and put ourselves in a position to contend for the conference in the latter stage of the season,” he said. “As a program, we haven’t won a conference championship since (1993), and there’s a lot of great teams in our league (Firelands, Keystone, Buckeye), so I know it’s not going to be an easy task.”
The Pirates were 11-6-1, 5-10-1 last spring but closed with seven wins over their final 12 games. Colin Filak (.333, 14 stolen bases), Seth Pluta (3.46 ERA, 42 strikeouts), Travis Sexton (.291, 14 RBIs) and Derek Hawley (.313, 12 runs) are the top returnees.
Coaching certainly is in Wright’s blood, as he is the nephew of not only Ensign but former Pirates softball coach Amy Wright as well.
Suffice it to say, he can’t wait to get started.
“Long term I want to really focus on building our program from the ground up,” he said. “I have a good relationship with the guys who run our youth program, and we want to bolster that as much as possible through quality coaching and fundamental focus.
“Eventually, we want to become a program that competes for PAC championships on a regular basis.”
Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.