Longtime Temple baseball coach Larry Haynes is getting to know those perks - which included a recent trip to sunny Southern California - quite well. As Haynes said upon his retirement earlier this month after 23 seasons, “I’ll be my own boss.”
But before Haynes can officially call it a career, there’s one last finale in store.
Haynes will serve as one of four coaches in tonight’s Central Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game at 6 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.
In all, 20 local seniors are scheduled to play in the inaugural event. It’s one last shot at high school glory for a group of area players that includes Temple’s Kevin Lock and Andrew Rayas and Belton’s Nick Wright, Garrett Vail, Brett Hernandez, Jarrett Crowell and Justin Dechert.
And that’s exactly the way Haynes looks at it.
“It gives these kids a last hurrah,” Haynes said. “I’m sure all of them were impact players on their teams.”
Haynes certainly left his impact at Temple, winning 335 games in a career that spanned more than two decades. He confirmed his retirement May 29 to the surprise of his players and longtime friends in coaching.
“I sure hate to see him go,” said Salado coach Melvin Bates, who will coach the dark team along with Haynes. “He’s done a lot for the coaching organization.”
Their coaching paths crossed in the mid-1980s when both were assistant coaches, Haynes at Temple and Bates at Belton. Haynes eventually took over as the Wildcats’ head coach before the 1987 season and Bates became the head coach at Salado in 1986.
“It’s a privilege to be considered Larry’s friend,” said Bates, who guided Salado to the 2007 Class 2A state championship.
“With him going out this year, getting to coach with him for one game is a privilege.”
Tonight’s all-star game is something Central Texas coaches have been trying to put together for years.
As much as it’s a chance to honor some of the area’s most deserving seniors, the game also gives those players still in search of a chance to play at the next level one last shot to impress college coaches. In the future, there are plans to expand to a juniors game as well.
“I think for a lot of these kids, it gives them a lot of exposure,” Bates said. “We’re trying to get these kids who haven’t been seen much to get them in front of college coaches. We’ll hope they reap the benefits and get some kind of reward of it.”
The idea tonight is to get all of the 42 players as involved as possible. Every position player will have a chance to hit at least once and catchers will be rotated with each pitching change.
It’s all about fun and giving the kids one last chance to shine on the high school stage.
“We’re trying to make it as positive as we can,” Haynes said.
