THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY

WIZS’ own Trey Snide, the recently named varsity head baseball coach for the Crossroads Christian School Colts, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Tuesday at 11 a.m.

Snide said it was a conversation with the Colts’ athletic director Scottie Richardson on WIZS’ Sports Mayhem program that started the ball rolling. “They were looking for a baseball coach; it was vacant. About two weeks after that show, Scottie reached out to me and said he’d love to talk to me about the possibility of being the coach. We met at a restaurant here in town and he pitched the entire Crossroads culture to me.”

While baseball and softball have been part of the Colts’ athletic offerings for years, Snide said the school is looking to build a larger culture of excellence in these programs. “I love what they have going on at Crossroads. I love the culture they are focused on building.”

The opportunity to grow the baseball program appeals to Snide who said he was excited to “take my ideas of how I believe a baseball team should be and how they should act and build it from the ground up.”

Snide’s past coaching experience includes serving as the football coach at Dillard Drive Middle School in Raleigh, the basketball coach for the former Johnston Christian Academy in Smithfield and heavy involvement in the various sports programs at his alma mater, Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC, a private college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.

With baseball season around the corner, meetings with interested players and training sessions began four months ago, including practices over Christmas break. “I told the guys that we are here to build something special. Myself and assistant coaches Wes Collier and Robin Capps are dedicated to making it work,” said Snide.

The Colts’ first official day of spring sports begins February 10. The first game will be played at home on March 3 at 4 p.m. against Crescent Christian Academy. The team schedule is available at www.ccscolts.org.

To hear the interview with Snide in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.