South Georgia - In The Game High School Sports Magazine

You are here: Home Category Blog Editor's Pick June 2009

Editor's Pick June 2009

Thursday, 15 July 2010 12:54
E-mail Print PDF
Editor's Pick

Greg Roberts Impacts CCA

Citizens Christian Academy
Douglas, Georgia
by Robert Preston, Jr.
photography by Robert Preston, Jr.

The Citizens Christian Academy Patriots of Douglas have been known around the Georgia Independent Schools Association (GISA) circles for decades as a basketball school, and with good reason. Dozens of banners hang in the CCA gym recognizing successful teams of the past: Region champions, Elite Eight and Final Four appearances, and state titles. Basketball is king at CCA, and the school has the hardware to prove it.

But Greg Roberts, head baseball and softball coach at CCA, is doing his best to bring that same level of respect to the rest of the Patriots’ athletic program. Coach Roberts, a graduate of Coffee High School in Douglas, played baseball at South Georgia College and East Tennessee State University. After graduating from college, he entered coaching, beginning as a varsity assistant with Coffee High.

Just prior to the start of the 2008 baseball season, an opportunity to become the head coach at CCA presented itself. Coach Roberts, who was no longer coaching in the public school system at the time, jumped at the chance. In order to get the baseball job, he had to take another job as well and it was one he wasn’t very familiar with: women’s softball. “I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. But it worked out,” he says.

Coach Roberts is very comfortable coaching baseball. Softball is a different story. While baseball and softball share some similarities, the two are very different in many ways. “Softball is more defense-oriented. If you have a good pitcher and catcher, you’re okay. Base-running is different. You can’t take leads so you can’t do a lot of offensive things on the base paths,” he explains.

In his days on the diamond, the coach was an aggressive player. He carried that same kind of play to the softball field. “I coached softball just like I coach baseball. The relays and cut-offs are the same, the bunt defenses are the same,” he says. Coach Roberts also ran his practices the way he runs baseball practices. That was something the Lady Patriots weren’t used to at all. They had never had their throwing mechanics or swing broken down and they had never had such an intense focus on fundamentals. The girls adjusted after a few weeks of practice and as the season rolled around, Coach Roberts’ main goal was simply to be competitive. “I wasn’t sure at first but about halfway through the season, I saw we had a shot,” he remembers.

 Greg Roberts Impacts CCA

Greg Roberts Impacts CCA

Greg Roberts Impacts CCA
CCA lost its first game, then rattled off several wins in a row. Anchored by senior pitcher Kacey Morris and senior catcher Kaitlyn Lott, the Lady Patriots picked up steam as the season progressed. They soon emerged as a state champion contender.

CCA ended up winning the region championship for the first time in its softball team’s history. The Lady Patriots rolled through the playoffs, eventually playing Crisp Academy for the state championship. Kacey Morris, who had been an integral part of CCA’s success all season, broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the seventh with a walk-off single to the wall that drove in the winning run from second.

CCA hadn’t just been competitive; they had risen to the top of GISA Class A and won the school’s first state softball championship. The Lady Patriots finished with a 17-4 record and Coach Roberts was named GISA Class A Coach of the Year. Six players from the 2008 team were named All Region: Kacey Morris, Kaitlyn Lott, Allison Smith, Kaci Day, Courtney Paulk and Ashlee Brown. Each of these six players also made All State.

Coach Roberts took the winter off before rounding up his baseball players for the 2009 campaign. In 2008, the Patriots had made the playoffs but were ousted in the first round by Nathaniel Greene. With the nucleus of that team returning, plus the addition of catcher Dylan Ellis and shortstop/pitcher Mikey Rodriguez, Coach Roberts knew his team was much improved over last year. “Our goal at the beginning of the season was to win the region title and make a run deep in the playoffs,” he says.

However, the beginning of the season came fairly late this year. Many of his baseball players also play basketball; because of the basketball postseason, Coach Roberts didn’t get his complete team assembled until two weeks before the baseball season began.

Last year, the Patriots looked really good at times. At others, not so much. Following the 2008 season, Coach Roberts put the team through a 15 or 20 game summer schedule. The extra reps and practices paid huge dividends when this season rolled around.

The team looked much better early in the season. They played better defense, and the pitching staff, consisting of Mikey Rodriguez, Keegan Ellis, Caleb Wright and Blake Morris, threw strikes but kept opposing batters off balance at the same time. Offensively, the Patriots cut down on their strikeouts and put the ball in play. CCA has three bona fide power hitters in Keegan, Mikey and Blake Hendley, and all have contributed in key situations all year. Others have stepped up, too. Brent Carver, the Patriots’ only senior, hit a big three-run home run in CCA’s second round playoff series to put CCA up for good. Kaylon Moore has played solid defense in left field and Dylan Ellis has managed games very well from behind the plate. The 2009 Patriots are more experienced, mature and understand the importance of working hard.

Best of all, they have seen their hard work pay off. CCA accomplished its first goal by winning the region championship, the school’s first ever in baseball. The success earned Coach Roberts another Class A Coach of the Year Award. At the time of this interview, the Patriots were preparing for a Final Four showdown against Randolph Southern. Also, the All Region and All State teams had not been announced yet, but the Patriots had a number of players on both.

Among the Patriots’ fans are Coach Roberts’ six-month-old daughter, Asa, and wife, Autumn Roberts, who is the Head Cheer Coach at Coffee High. “Greg is a great coach because he inspires kids to be their very best. It is not difficult to give your coach 100% when he demonstrates the same level of dedication. Plus, it’s very hard to argue with someone who can still outplay you!” says Autumn.

As good as the baseball season has been, Coach Roberts knows there is room for improvement. “We still haven’t completely gotten it yet. We’re a lot better, but there is so much more we need to work on,” he says.

On a positive note, with the exception of Brent Carver, the entire 2009 team will be back next year. That’s good news for the Patriots but bad news for the rest of the region. •
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 September 2010 15:59 )  


In The Game High School Sports Magazine

South Georgia Edition