Sports shaped Hayden Craig from a very young age and taught him to be a better man before being a better baseball player.  

“Being a good person comes before being a good player,” said Craig, the assistant baseball coach at Piedmont College. “We have all had teammates who were talented but not the best people. Even if the pitch before or after was awful, you always have to be ready for the next one, that’s how baseball and life parallel to each other.”

Hayden Craig was born on Sep. 7, 1992 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Baseball has been the focal point of his life and is the reason he lives in Demorest, Georgia. Craig played collegiate baseball for four years at Adrian College, in Missouri. While teaching, he started coaching at a high school in the same county in which he grew up. He did what was necessary for his career and a week after Craig accepted the head coaching job, he terminated his contract and took the position of assistant baseball coach at Piedmont College. 

“This was my foot into the door,” Craig said. However, Craig’s coaching philosophy is a reflection of his personal experiences and beliefs throughout his life as a student of the game of baseball. “If one day is crappy that has no bearing on what today will bring. Growth in the weight room, skill, and maturity are things every player should see strides in” he said.

Being in the position of coaching collegiate baseball is just a step into the right direction for the young coach. Craig strives to be a better coach every day and relies on the 10,000 hour rule, which is something that he has been studying. The 10,000 hour rule implies that if you want to become great at something, then 10,000 or more hours must be spent on that craft. He is ready for all the challenges of college coaching whether it is recruiting, gaining player’s trust or making them a better person.”I got my first taste of recruiting at Piedmont, it was awesome to really zone in on players and look for individual skill and if they are playing the game the right way” he said. 

Craig looks forward to launching his collegiate coaching career and helping the Lions be successful. “I love it, it’s a dream. It is all baseball and if you’re passionate about your work it isn’t work,” Craig said.