[BlackcatAlum]

Prestonsburg baseball coach Marc Shepherd has left his teaching & coaching position at Prestonsburg. Why? I simply do not know.

[IRISH4]

He may be interested in returning to JC, I do believe there is a H.S. science position open....I was hoping to see him stick it out though, P'burg has needed a youthful and energetic coach to help revive the program.

[JackRabbitSlim]

He may be interested in returning to JC, I do believe there is a H.S. science position open....I was hoping to see him stick it out though, P'burg has needed a youthful and energetic coach to help revive the program.

Prestonsburg will have trouble being competitive for the next couple of years. You can't have a revolving door with coaches and expect to have a succesful program.

[bad hop]

Prestonsburg will have trouble being competitive for the next couple of years. You can't have a revolving door with coaches and expect to have a succesful program.

It seems that the 58th district just doesn't like baseball, I really thought that P-burg had turned the corner with this coach but guess not. Don't know what happened but good luck to coach.

[IRISH4]

So when is the position going to be posted along with open teaching vacancies? I know someone that stated they would like to apply for the spot.

[Lisa Douglas]

You "know someone"..... C'mon Irish4.... "spill it"!

[IRISH4]

You "know someone"..... C'mon Irish4.... "spill it"!

Yep, no names to be discussed yet....but he is youthful, played and coached college baseball, brings a Charlie Adkins passion for the game and has been successful at coaching H.S. and Jr. High level this past year.

[JackRabbitSlim]

Yep, no names to be discussed yet....but he is youthful, played and coached college baseball, brings a Charlie Adkins passion for the game and has been successful at coaching H.S. and Jr. High level this past year.

I think that is pretty obvious who that may be! haha

[BlackcatAlum]

Well I hope they decide to get someone that will stick with the program. Some players feel betrayed by Coach Marc Shepherd, so I hope whoever gets the job will keep this program on the right track.

[JackRabbitSlim]

Well I hope they decide to get someone that will stick with the program. Some players feel betrayed by Coach Marc Shepherd, so I hope whoever gets the job will keep this program on the right track.

If they get who Irish is talking about then I think the program will be just fine...

[IRISH4]

If they get who Irish is talking about then I think the program will be just fine...

Well if they get who I am talking about...he is more interested in making a long-term project out of Pburg and wanting to create something.....I know that he knows they have the athletes, it's just a matter of getting them to all work on the same page and building support. Hopefully it will work out!

[JackRabbitSlim]

Well if they get who I am talking about...he is more interested in making a long-term project out of Pburg and wanting to create something.....I know that he knows they have the athletes, it's just a matter of getting them to all work on the same page and building support. Hopefully it will work out!

It does have potential, but I think "he" will run into a road block with football and basketball. To succeed anymore you have to be in a program that goes year around, and with football and basketball, and so many playing all three, it will be hard. I think that is why LC did so good this year is because I think only of their players played basketball. They had a few that played football I think, but they still lifted and conditioned with them I am sure. However, that seems to be the biggest problem anymore. There are so many schools that will not work around other sports in the summer that it makes it hard to play everything, and so many are quitting baseball because of it, or they are not getting the time in that they need.

[IRISH4]

I realize that P-burg is a football school first and foremost...However, I think if there was an establisth fitness program year-round for student-athletes who did not participate in football/wrestleing then they would be competitive. It is a long shot, but I feel that if worked with properly then P-burg could make the regional tournament every year with an outside shot of making the championship. Hopefully, things will work out to everyone's benefit!

[JackRabbitSlim]

I realize that P-burg is a football school first and foremost...However, I think if there was an establisth fitness program year-round for student-athletes who did not participate in football/wrestleing then they would be competitive. It is a long shot, but I feel that if worked with properly then P-burg could make the regional tournament every year with an outside shot of making the championship. Hopefully, things will work out to everyone's benefit!

Really all they need is longevity! That is a big part of successful programs. Look at all the programs in east kentucky, LC-Keeton, Paintsville-Adkins, JC-Collins, Boyd-Hamilton, all of them had no question who would be their coach, and I think it makes a difference with the kind of attitude kids take into the season.

[IRISH4]

I agree....a team can not go from one year to the next worrying who their skipper is gonna be. They need to know before hand who their manager is going to be and what to expect...i.e. agressiveness on the bases and at the plate, etc. I promise though, if they would hire who I am thinkin of then they can garuntee several years of baseball....w/o worrying of losing the coach.

[JackRabbitSlim]

I agree....a team can not go from one year to the next worrying who their skipper is gonna be. They need to know before hand who their manager is going to be and what to expect...i.e. agressiveness on the bases and at the plate, etc. I promise though, if they would hire who I am thinkin of then they can garuntee several years of baseball....w/o worrying of losing the coach.

Well good I think he will do a good job, and I am pretty sure I know exactly who you are talking about.

[mandan]

It does have potential, but I think "he" will run into a road block with football and basketball. To succeed anymore you have to be in a program that goes year around, and with football and basketball, and so many playing all three, it will be hard. I think that is why LC did so good this year is because I think only of their players played basketball. They had a few that played football I think, but they still lifted and conditioned with them I am sure. However, that seems to be the biggest problem anymore. There are so many schools that will not work around other sports in the summer that it makes it hard to play everything, and so many are quitting baseball because of it, or they are not getting the time in that they need.

Unfortunately, this goes on way too much in a lot of schools. Most schools have to "share" athletes in all sports. It's up to the school administration (Supt., AD, BOE) to curtail the pressure or intimidation by coaches on athletes. Ultimately, parents should intervene. I don't know too many coaches who would set out their best players in a game because they didn't show up for an open gym or weightlifting session in the off-season.

[BlackcatAlum]

Prestonsburg's lineup this season...

1B - Nat Stephens - Football, Basketball, and Baseball
2B - Mason Haywood - Football and Baseball
SS - Tyler Hall - Soccer, Basketball, and Baseball
3B - Josh Rodebaugh - Golf, Basketball, and Baseball
C - Allen Craynon - Football, Wrestling, and Baseball
P - Chris Schoolcraft - Football, Wrestling, and Baseball
RF - Seth Setser - Football, Basketball, and Baseball
CF - Bobby Hughes - Football, Basketball, and Baseball
LF - Cameron Tincher - Golf, Basketball, and Baseball

So its going to be tough for Prestonsburg's athletes to focus on one sport.

[White Lotus]

Pburg is going to be weak for the next few years....Shepherd was a GREAT coach...and proved without a doubt that he was the best coach in the 58th...unfortunately AC's superior talent prevailed in the tournament (AC's coach is flat out terrible)....I would have like to have seen what shepherd could have dpne with AC this past season

[BlackcatAlum]

Pburg is going to be weak for the next few years....Shepherd was a GREAT coach...and proved without a doubt that he was the best coach in the 58th...unfortunately AC's superior talent prevailed in the tournament (AC's coach is flat out terrible)....I would have like to have seen what shepherd could have dpne with AC this past season

For one, Shepherd did nothing with the talent he had here at Prestonsburg. He did present more disipline but wasn't much better than the previous coach. He couldn't motivate any of his players at all. Two, Allen Central does not have near as much talent as Prestonsburg. Shepherd was the reason why they lost to Allen Central in the 58th district tournament, having batters bunt in the 6th inning down by 3 or 4 runs, also leaving Rodebaugh into pitch when the Rebels were hitting everything. He has much more to learn as a coach.

Down the road Shepherd will be a very good coach but your comments only make me laugh.

[Mr.Kimball]

For one, Shepherd did nothing with the talent he had here at Prestonsburg. He did present more disipline but wasn't much better than the previous coach. He couldn't motivate any of his players at all. Two, Allen Central does not have near as much talent as Prestonsburg. Shepherd was the reason why they lost to Allen Central in the 58th district tournament, having batters bunt in the 6th inning down by 3 or 4 runs, also leaving Rodebaugh into pitch when the Rebels were hitting everything. He has much more to learn as a coach.

Down the road Shepherd will be a very good coach but your comments only make me laugh.

You know Blackcat it all goes down to what I told you in the preseason. PBurg is a football school. They always have been , they always will be.

The plain truth of the matter is that no matter who the coach at PBurg may be they will always struggle because of the simple fact that for the most part you will see kids play baseball at PBurg starting Feb 15 and then stop playing whenever the district tournament is over. You may have one try some summer ball of some sort every now and then, but as a team they are done whenever PBurg discontinues post season play. You cannot expect to have a program at the high school level when you are never, ever going to have the commitment by all involved to really go the extra distance to produce a true program. John Derossett will always see that that possibility will never happen. PBurg aways has good athletes, the trouble is they are not particularily skilled athletes on the baseball field. Regardless of what you may think PBurg was not loaded with talent, they just had some good athletes at excell at other sports. Allen Central does have better baseball players. Maybe not better athletes but more skilled players. It's when you combine the two aspects, that you have the ingredients to produce great baseball players. Right now it is doubtful that PBurg will ever attempt to achieve the consistant quality of baseball programs as Lawrence Co., JC, Paintsville, or Pikeville. It is not something that the administration and the fan base is really willing to put the time into.

I tried to tell you you did not have two D1 players early on, did I not? I tried to tell you that they in the big scheme of things they are actually substandard at the college level and are very average even by eastern Kentucky standards at the high school level.. Did I not tell you that Marc was young and could in time be a good coach, but at this point in time was kind of being thrown to the wolves? Are you not the one that exalted him to this seasoned veteran stage way before he ever coached his first game? Not meaning to jump all over you because the mentality that you have of what baseball is all about and of the mentality of what it takes to become a great baseball player is not much different than the majority of eastern Kentucky folks. Some of you all just dont understand much about baseball.

[BlackcatAlum]

You know Blackcat it all goes down to what I told you in the preseason. PBurg is a football school. They always have been , they always will be.

The plain truth of the matter is that no matter who the coach at PBurg may be they will always struggle because of the simple fact that for the most part you will see kids play baseball at PBurg starting Feb 15 and then stop playing whenever the district tournament is over. You may have one try some summer ball of some sort every now and then, but as a team they are done whenever PBurg discontinues post season play. You cannot expect to have a program at the high school level when you are never, ever going to have the commitment by all involved to really go the extra distance to produce a true program. John Derossett will always see that that possibility will never happen. PBurg aways has good athletes, the trouble is they are not particularily skilled athletes on the baseball field. Regardless of what you may think PBurg was not loaded with talent, they just had some good athletes at excell at other sports. Allen Central does have better baseball players. Maybe not better athletes but more skilled players. It's when you combine the two aspects, that you have the ingredients to produce great baseball players. Right now it is doubtful that PBurg will ever attempt to achieve the consistant quality of baseball programs as Lawrence Co., JC, Paintsville, or Pikeville. It is not something that the administration and the fan base is really willing to put the time into.

I tried to tell you you did not have two D1 players early on, did I not? I tried to tell you that they in the big scheme of things they are actually substandard at the college level and are very average even by eastern Kentucky standards at the high school level.. Did I not tell you that Marc was young and could in time be a good coach, but at this point in time was kind of being thrown to the wolves? Are you not the one that exalted him to this seasoned veteran stage way before he ever coached his first game? Not meaning to jump all over you because the mentality that you have of what baseball is all about and of the mentality of what it takes to become a great baseball player is not much different than the majority of eastern Kentucky folks. Some of you all just dont understand much about baseball.

Yeah, I knew this day would come when you would let me know I was wrong and I'm not afraid to admit it, I was wrong. I thought Marc would do more with Prestonsburg than the previous coach, he did seem much more intelligent but Prestonsburg went no farther than they usually go at the end of the season. Although Prestonsburg did capture there the 58th District regular season title.

[blackcat_mvp6]

Coach Shepherd wasn't very liked by his kids either. They didn't like his smart mouth and he would just make you frustrated when you messed up. Instead of trying to correct it, he would just make a smartelic comment. The only difference he made was we had some disipline this season and thats it. The kids are the ones who did it this year not the new coach.

[Mr.Kimball]

Yeah, I knew this day would come when you would let me know I was wrong and I'm not afraid to admit it, I was wrong. I thought Marc would do more with Prestonsburg than the previous coach, he did seem much more intelligent but Prestonsburg went no farther than they usually go at the end of the season. Although Prestonsburg did capture there the 58th District regular season title.

Oh, lets get something straight. Nothing I said is anything that I am gloating about.In my opinion, it just takes more skill to be able to play baseball than any of the other major sports, but it is commonly thought of as a sport that you can just show up and play when the season rolls around. That just seems to be the common thought around here. I know that some are going to say basketball, but I dont agree with that by any means.

It takes a lot of commitment to work at a sport where in the end if you can be so good that you fail at it 70% of the time you have got the chance to make it to the Hall of Fame.

Also , dont be so hard on Marc, I've known him and his family for a long long time. He is a wonderful young man .Please be considerate enough to realize that he may not be the fault for everything in this season. Remember that he did not have a squad of players that had a real good background of baseball training due to their predecessor. If you really want to blame someone I would start pointing fingers at the administration at Prestonsburg High School and the Floyd Co. Board of Education for letting baseball become an afterthought.

[mandan]

Oh, lets get something straight. Nothing I said is anything that I am gloating about.In my opinion, it just takes more skill to be able to play baseball than any of the other major sports, but it is commonly thought of as a sport that you can just show up and play when the season rolls around. That just seems to be the common thought around here. I know that some are going to say basketball, but I dont agree with that by any means.

It takes a lot of commitment to work at a sport where in the end if you can be so good that you fail at it 70% of the time you have got the chance to make it to the Hall of Fame.

Also , dont be so hard on Marc, I've known him and his family for a long long time. He is a wonderful young man .Please be considerate enough to realize that he may not be the fault for everything in this season. Remember that he did not have a squad of players that had a real good background of baseball training due to their predecessor. If you really want to blame someone I would start pointing fingers at the administration at Prestonsburg High School and the Floyd Co. Board of Education for letting baseball become an afterthought.

My thoughts exactly (as stated in post # 17). Until SOMEBODY steps up and forces coaches to share these athletes, nothing will change. Let's face it, most HS athletes are NOT going to the pros and most won't get a college scholarship to play whatever sport. There has to be a willingness/ committment by all to allow these kids to play whatever they wish without the pressure from adults.

[OutsideLogic]

I can't believe how harsh some of the posters on here have been towards Coach Shepherd. Sounds like one of the players that didn't get the playing time they wanted or one of the parents that didn't get their way like they have in the past. I hate to see young coaches get put in this position, where someone didn't get their way and they get on here blasting the coach.

[BlackcatAlum]

I can't believe how harsh some of the posters on here have been towards Coach Shepherd. Sounds like one of the players that didn't get the playing time they wanted or one of the parents that didn't get their way like they have in the past. I hate to see young coaches get put in this position, where someone didn't get their way and they get on here blasting the coach.

No ones intentionally being harsh, there just telling the truth. Alot of people are upset because they thought he was going to get this program to the top of the mountain but for him to just up and leave when they fired a teacher just to keep him is ridiculous. Marc barely even said anything to his players at there banquet the other day when he should have explained to them why he was leaving (which is still in the air).

Prestonsburg baseball is never going to get any better if there going to have to go on a coaching carousel each off-season.

[blackcat]

The plain truth of the matter is that no matter who the coach at PBurg may be they will always struggle because of the simple fact that for the most part you will see kids play baseball at PBurg starting Feb 15 and then stop playing whenever the district tournament is over. You may have one try some summer ball of some sort every now and then, but as a team they are done whenever PBurg discontinues post season play. You cannot expect to have a program at the high school level when you are never, ever going to have the commitment by all involved to really go the extra distance to produce a true program. John Derossett will always see that that possibility will never happen. PBurg aways has good athletes, the trouble is they are not particularily skilled athletes on the baseball field. Regardless of what you may think PBurg was not loaded with talent, they just had some good athletes at excell at other sports. Allen Central does have better baseball players. Maybe not better athletes but more skilled players. It's when you combine the two aspects, that you have the ingredients to produce great baseball players. Right now it is doubtful that PBurg will ever attempt to achieve the consistant quality of baseball programs as Lawrence Co., JC, Paintsville, or Pikeville. It is not something that the administration and the fan base is really willing to put the time into.

You have to be kidding me. Prestonsburg was 2-0 against AC in the regular season, and IMO played without a doubt the worst baseball of the season the last 6 or so games. AC does normally have superb talent, but lacked it this year. The only true baseball players they had were Little, Hammonds, and the Crowder twins (and I think they're better at basketball).

And I also believe that Prestonsburg has a state championship in baseball, Paintsville being the only other school in the 15th region with one. Maybe Prestonsburg is a "Baseball School".

[Mr.Kimball]

You have to be kidding me. Prestonsburg was 2-0 against AC in the regular season, and IMO played without a doubt the worst baseball of the season the last 6 or so games. AC does normally have superb talent, but lacked it this year. The only true baseball players they had were Little, Hammonds, and the Crowder twins (and I think they're better at basketball).

And I also believe that Prestonsburg has a state championship in baseball, Paintsville being the only other school in the 15th region with one. Maybe Prestonsburg is a "Baseball School".

Uhh, only game that counts is the one in the second season. Any game before that is only practice. Perhaps AC was just practicing their boys in the regualar season games. You know, settin PBurg up for the kill when it really means something.

Well, if that is your analogy, then name me more than the 4 that you mentioned that are true baseball players at PBurg. Name me baseball players, not athletes.

When Prestonsburg won their state title (1948), they still used feed sacks as bases . lol Name me at least one more regional title since then, and then tell me why that nobody wants the coaching job at PBurg.

[JackRabbitSlim]

Uhh, only game that counts is the one in the second season. Any game before that is only practice. Perhaps AC was just practicing their boys in the regualar season games. You know, settin PBurg up for the kill when it really means something.

Well, if that is your analogy, then name me more than the 4 that you mentioned that are true baseball players at PBurg. Name me baseball players, not athletes.

When Prestonsburg won their state title (1948), they still used feed sacks as bases . lol Name me at least one more regional title since then, and then tell me why that nobody wants the coaching job at PBurg.

I can't believe people are bringing up a state title that was won 60 years ago.