DEMOREST, GEORGIA- Hayden Craig, the newest member of the Piedmont College baseball coaching staff, looks to help coach and guide young men in the program to reach their full potential on and off the field.

“To be good at something you need to practice for 10,000 hours,” said Craig.

The former high school teacher turned college baseball coach but had just earned a head baseball coaching job at Adrian high school in Michigan, he jumped at the opportunity to come to the south to coach, where baseball is a major power. Played collegiate baseball at Adrian College (Michigan). Craig is the position player and hitting coach at Piedmont.

 “It is a dream come true to be college coach,” said Craig.

 To Craig this isn’t just a job, it is his passion. He takes great value in relationships with his players, and takes pride in respecting each player as a person. “Be a good person first, then coach baseball,” Craig said.

His goals in baseball are to keep climbing the ranks and end up being a head coach somewhere or reach the professional baseball leagues as a coach.

In his first year as assistant coach at Piedmont, so far he has learned a lot about the game and about coaching from the other coaches in Justin Scalli (head coach), Luke Harris (assistant head coach) and Barrett Courtwright (student volunteer-assistant). He plans to continue learning about the game from a coaching standpoint and help the Lions continue to get better each day.

The Lions are now 8-5 in the 2020 season.