Providence Christian hires Pete Coachman as baseball coach

Pete Coachman has been involved in a lot of state championships, including one as a player.

He hopes to pass along a similar experience as the new head baseball coach of Providence Christian.

Coachman, a former standout at Cottonwood High School who played briefly in the major leagues for the California Angels (now Los Angeles Angels), was approved by Providence Christian’s School Board as the head coach last week.

He replaces Frankie Pittman, who resigned back in May.

“It is exciting,” Coachman said, speaking Thursday before a meeting with players and parents. “I don’t think I have come off the high yet. I am eager to see what type of players that I have and to get the ball rolling in a positive way.”

Currently an employee of the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Coachman has been an assistant coach with Wallace College the last six years. He also helped for several years with Dothan Post 12. Both Wallace and Post 12 won state championships during his coaching tenure with the respective programs.

Coachman also played a key part in Cottonwood’s first state championship in 1981.

He believes his experience with state championship programs can be invaluable in dealing with Eagle players.

“They know what you are striving for, striving to be the best at that level,” Coachman said. “It is good when you are striving for something, you are more eager and in a sense wanting more.”

Providence Christian athletic director Chris Fain said Coachman will bring a lot of positive energy and passion to the program.

“Obviously we are pleased with the hiring of coach Coachman,” Fain said. “His resume speaks for itself in the years he played and has coached, but when we were doing the interview, I was struck with his humility and how he stressed teamwork. He seems to be a real positive person and a real encourager.

“You could definitely tell he had a passion for baseball. I felt if we got him, he would be a great fit for us.”

After playing at Cottonwood, Coachman played two years at Wallace College then a year at the University of South Alabama.

Mostly a second and third baseman, he was drafted in the 11th round by the Angels in 1984 and spent eight years in that organization. He also played briefly for minor league teams in the Oakland and San Francisco systems before calling it a career after the 1992 season.

Coachman reached the big leagues in the final months of the 1990 season with California. He appeared in 16 games with the Angels, batting .311 with five runs batted in. Defensively, he made only two errors in 31 chances.

Overall, he spent nine seasons in the minors, finishing with a .281 average, 35 homers and 417 RBIs. He also had 232 stolen bases, including 69 in 1985 with Class A Quad Cities.

“One was I could hit and the other was I had base running instinct,” Coachman said of his career. “You have to have the knowledge and whereabouts of the game (to run the bases).”

As a coach, Coachman said he would like to put out a sound team on the field.

“To play sound fundamental baseball, knowing situations before it happens,” Coachman said of the ideal team he wants. “That is one thing that I will stress more than other things is knowing the game and situations before it happens.

“My speciality is hitting and a sound, fundamental defense as far as catching and throwing. To be able to play defense you have to catch and throw. After you catch the ball, you have to throw accurately. It’s not just throwing, but throwing with accuracy.”