Hey everyone my name is TJ Wharton and I’m currently the head coach of the Licking County Settlers. We are a collegiate summer league team that plays in the Great Lakes League out of Newark, Ohio. I took the leap to write my very first blog to let everyone know my background in baseball and how I have gotten into the position I am. I find that I have a very unique background and this is what has led me to become a coach.

I had a very privileged and easy life growing up with my grandparents. They tried to give me the best life I could have and they did exactly that. Everything that I wanted, they made sure that I got it. My biological Mom gave me up to my grandparents right when I was born, because she knew that they couldn’t give me a life she could provide at the time. I did not realize back then how big of a sacrifice this was and how hard it must have been to watch my life from afar. I was sent to a private catholic high school and was not challenged much at all, it was pretty smooth sailing. My junior year of high school, I was given the opportunity to commit to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro on a very gracious athletic scholarship. I then went on to finish high school without much care, because I knew I was going to be a D1 athlete and nothing else mattered to me at the time.

Leading up to going off to college, I had a few arm injuries and plateaued due to it. I still went into college thinking I was ready but, in all reality, I was very far from it. I had a tough freshman year on the field, but what was about to happen changed my life. There was a coaching change that brought coach Link Jarrett to UNCG. I did not think much of this but when Fall semester was coming to an end, my life was never going to be the same. I was asked to leave UNC Greensboro over the holiday break as my scholarship was not going to be renewed for the next year- but rather divided up amongst 4 other athletes this new coach was to bring in. My scholarship was much too high for how I was performing and I knew this in the back of my head. I wanted to take the year and redshirt on the team, but I was not given this option. This set off the chain of events that led to my crazy life adventure that I’m still riding today. To put things into perspective here is my timeline from that point on:

·      Spring 2013- Attend Guilford Technical Community College

·      Summer 2013- Take 15 credit hours and play for the Kernersville Bulldogs

·      Fall 2013- Failed one class of five over the summer and forced to train at home in Tampa, FL to finish my AA

·      Spring 2014- Attend Catawba College

·      Summer 2014- My mother passes away. I play for the Kernersville Bulldogs and YD Red Sox

·      Fall 2014-Spring 2015- Attend Catawba College and become National Runner-ups

·      Summer 2015- Attend affiliate and independent baseball tryouts

·      Fall 2015- Coach at Catawba College

·      Spring/Summer 2016- Engaged the love of my life and play independent baseball

·      Fall 2016-Spring 2017- Coach at Catawba and finish my bachelor’s degree

·      Summer 2017- Head Coach in Virginia Beach Collegiate League

·      Fall 2017- Start my Master’s program online at Ohio University, coach at Eckerd College and get married!

·      Spring 2018- Coach at Eckerd, start with New York Yankees and work at Bite Squad

·      Summer 2018- Camp Counselor/Coach at IMG Academy

·      Fall 2018- Start at St. Petersburg College and work at Amazon Delivery

·      Spring 2019- Work with the New York Yankees, obtain CSCS and coach at St. Petersburg College

·       Summer- Head Coach Licking County Settlers

There are a couple reasons as to why I wrote out my timeline for you in this way. My academic career and playing career were very unconventional, but I wouldn’t have it any other way- it’s shaped me into who I am! The day that coach Jarett told me to find another baseball program, it was really the start of my adult life. I was given a challenge to figure out what I needed out of my college career in less than 6 months. I put my head down and put all my trust in myself and the people who mattered most to me. 

No matter who you are, life is going to sneak up on you and throw you some major curveballs. My mom was a huge motivating factor in all of this because of how much she loved seeing me play. Once she passed away, life became that much harder because it all hit me at once about how much she gave up for me. The amount that she sacrificed for me will never be forgotten and it has shaped the way I respect those who are closest to me. This is a big reason as to why I developed a growth mindset. I never questioned a thing before she passed away. When she passed all of these questions popped in my head that were never going to be answered. Instead of dwelling on not getting the answer to these questions, I’ve channeled that energy into being curious for life, looking for questions that I don’t have the answer to. The older I get I realize all the sacrifices people made for me to have the career that I had. I am so grateful for my mom, my grandparents and my wife, I call them my core 4. In baseball, the core four were Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Andy Petite and Mariano Rivera. Those four players were the foundation for the Yankees success when the played and my core 4 are the foundation of happiness. Not only could I not have the success in my playing career that I do now, but my family is the reason for my success in my professional career.

My time at Catawba College was one of the best times of my life and the best decision that I could have ever made as a college athlete. Coach Gantt is an outstanding coach and an even better leader of life. Being a city boy from Tampa, Florida I had very little culture and stepping out into Salisbury, North Carolina was a shock to me that I really needed. It was the first time in my life that I realized that baseball was just a game. My teammates and the culture that has been built at Catawba showed me how much more there was to life. 

All in all, Baseball is what made me socially acceptable growing up and I just never strayed away from the game because of this. I was always just “the kid that’s good at baseball.” Once I started going through these life experiences with my new brothers at Catawba, I saw the entire picture of life. I appreciated my family, my friends and my free time much more than I had previously. Everything I did in life before was set up to make me a better baseball player and strictly that, nothing else. Coach Gantt was the one who started my path down my coaching career by telling me the truth when I needed to hear it. That is one coaching style that has been passed down to me because it is when I heard the HARD truth is when I grew the most. If we always tell players what they want to hear then what will happen to them when they get fired from their first job? The transition from player to coach led me to the realization that a coach does not hate you if you’re not in the lineup every night. A coach only tells you this tough information because they believe that it is what you need to hear.  

The second reason that I shared my timeline with you is to shed light on what being a young coach is like in the game of baseball. It takes years to get your feet underneath you, but I feel as if most coaches have these challenges over the years. If you were to get a full-time job right out of college, what life lessons would you have to pass down to your players? These past two years have been a whirlwind of emotions and I have learned so much from every facet of what I’ve gone through. This summer will be the first time in two years that I am able to give my sole focus to a group of players and I couldn’t be more excited to coach. 

This blog will be of all the tactics that I used with my players this summer and the rest of my career to not only improve their baseball careers, but their lives off of the field. Everyone’s journey is different and I hope this blog will give people direction when life gets tough for us coaches or anyone who feels lost or confused in their playing career. Whether that tough situation is how to improve your player development skills or how to deal with a player who is having a tough time in life. Thank you to all that took the time to read this and I hope you look into my future material! It means the world to me to be able to share my experiences and journey with you. 

Update 8-30-20:

It’s been a little over a year since I wrote this blog and I can tell you it’s been one of the best years of my life. The Settlers went on to win the regular season southern division title and loose a winner take all game in the championship. We had a great team and I stay in touch with many players to this day. I left Ohio with many doubts as to where my career was headed. I was going back to Florida for another year of coaching while struggling to make a living wage. All of the thoughts were racing through my head.

• “Is this worth it?”
• “Should I just get a real job?”
• “Am I holding my wife back?”
• “How am I going to be 27 and never had a full-time job?”

My wife was there to assure me that she wanted me to push through it, and keep reaching for my dream. The next portion of my life is described in the blog that I wrote during quarantine, “Why Maryville College”. We are building something special here in East Tennessee and it’s my hope that you enjoy reading how we go about doing so!

https://tjwhartonbaseball.sport.blog/2020/03/26/why-maryville-college/