Pair plans to work glove-in-glove with baseball team
A new era is on the horizon for Pilot Point baseball, with the new coaching duo of head coach Tyler Vernon and coaching mentor Terry Wolf manning the dugout this spring.
Vernon and Wolf aim to turn around a Bearcats baseball program that won three games in district play last season.
“It has to come with attitude and accountability,” Vernon said. “We want everyone to have a positive attitude when you come to this field, from the coaches to the players. Everything here is about baseball, and we’re here to give 100 percent and hold everyone accountable.”
Vernon, who is in his second year at Pilot Point, attended the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas, where he was a four-year member of the Eagles’ baseball team.
After finishing his playing career, Vernon started his coaching career working as an assistant coach with the Eagles before becoming a private baseball coach in the Denton area.
Vernon, who served as the Bearcats’ assistant baseball coach last season, said he was inspired to accept the head coach position by what he saw from the players and the community. “It was a tough year, but the
kids always gave effort,” he said. “… I really wanted to come back, and I knew they had a bunch of potential, so I wanted to help put a good mark on them and the program. Hopefully, I can give them the knowledge I’ve learned from the game of baseball, and we can see what kind of impact we can make together.”
Wolf brings with him over 35 years of baseball coaching experience, with a career record of 664 wins and 133 losses.
Wolf, who is a 2020 Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Inductee, said he was convinced to come out of retirement by his good friend Chad Worrell, Pilot Point athletic director and head football coach.
“He proposed that I help mentor his new head coach,” Wolf said. “I told him there’s no way I would do it if Coach Vernon wasn’t ok with it, but Coach Vernon accepted me right from the start and has taken the things we’ve talked about and run with them.”
Vernon shared how excited he is to absorb as much knowledge as he can from his legendary mentor.
“I want to learn everything I can from him,” he said. “His record speaks for itself, but seeing what he’s accomplished and the players he’s coached is a testament to the impact that he’s had. We’re all going to learn a lot from him.”
Wolf emphasized that the duo plans to rebuild Bearcat baseball from the ground up.
“Coach Vernon and I both agree our major focus this season is learning the basics,” he said. “We’re going to make sure that we know baseball because that’s the only way to appreciate just how much fun this game is. … We want our [players] to see how much pride we have in the game, and we want them to carry that with them. As long as they’re getting better each week, we want them to understand that’s the first step to becoming a good team.”
