Marketplace
RSS
 Print
 Email link
 Respond to editor
 Read comments (13)
 Share link
Kitchen will lead Jackson baseball programFriday, May 29, 2009Tatum Kitchen will follow Rob French as varsity coach. Tatum Kitchen doesn't expect to be intimidated by his first high school baseball head coaching position. After all, Kitchen grew up around the game as the son of longtime Central coach Terry Kitchen, who led the Tigers to four final four berths. "I was fortunate enough to grow up in a coach's office and a dugout," Tatum Kitchen said. "I was born my dad's second year at Central. I learned a lot from him." Tatum Kitchen recently was named to lead the Jackson program after Rob French took an administrative position within the school district. Kitchen was a Jackson assistant the past two years after he served as the Indians' freshman coach in 2007. "I'm thrilled," Kitchen said. "I think I've coached the majority of the kids at some point, which should be a big advantage." Kitchen, a 1998 Central graduate, starred in football and baseball for the Tigers. He was a three-year football letterman at Southeast Missouri State. Kitchen was an assistant at Central in 2005 and 2006 before being hired at Jackson, where he teaches physical education at the middle school. "I remember when I started out as a volunteer coach at Central [while attending Southeast], my goal was to be a head coach," Kitchen said. "It's exciting." Jackson athletic director John Martin said Kitchen is a good choice to lead the Indians. "Tatum's a hard worker. He's been in our district for several years and he's done a good job," Martin said. "We're excited to have him as our head coach." Comments  Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please Login or Create an account first, and then you will be able to flag a comment as objectionable. Please also note that those who post comments on semissourian.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
|
More stories
Enter your email address to subscribe to our mailing lists:
|
del.icio.us
Digg
StumbleUpon
Technorati
Newsvine
Facebook
Furl
Reddit
Google
This could be the worst move in Jackson High School history. What is the administration thinking? All of the other area coaches are loving this move because they now know that they do not ever have to worry about Jackson competing in baseball. I feel sorry for the people in charge of the new field in Jackson because this move has to take wind out of their sails. I have seen multiple indian games this past season and i am shocked on this move, but on the other hand im not because it is obvious how Jackson operates. Kitchen has done nothing in Jackson besides be an assistant coach for the high school, no summer leagues nothing. People need to realize he his not his father!
Mr. ballsnstrikes-
I do have to agree with your last line. I have been saying this for years about a lot of people. Everyone needs to cut the ties with a player/coaches parent. They are not and will never be their father. Who knows they may be better. Let the man prove himself before you bash him. Jackson has a lot of talent coming through the levels and he might just get it done. You & I can not make a correct prediction on his career, it is just beginning.
the freshman coach cant coach,the jr.LEGION COACH is corrupt and now a head coach who has never coached????????????ITS all politics.politics that will sink jackson baseball .well , finish what has already been started.WAKE UP JACKSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i dont understand why you all are saying this about him when you dont even know him. he will be a good coach. the junior legion coach is coach austin and he is not corrupt so i dont know where you get your information from. coach austin is the best hitting coach in this area. coach kitchen will do a great job next year and for years to come.
The Jackson Junior Legion team is currently 8-0. They are hitting .437 as a team. They were the first team in Jackson Legion history to win the Memorial Weekend Tournament in Jackson. Politics did not make this happen! These kids are held accountable everyday, pushed to bring out the best in their abilities and required to be quality citizens in the community. I currently have the best sophmores in the Jackson area along with some great freshman players. They are winning because of dedication and hard work. So while you hide behind a fake name and sit at home champs83lunch, we will continue to work hard, improve, win and build a quality summer program in the great town of Jackson.
God Bless,
Coach Austin
Seriously here, both Coach Kitchen, and Coach Austin have played the game well, you wouldn't know how much trouble they go to get us( as players) into good shape and make us the best athletes that we can be. And next year comin baseball season each and every coach will do there job as best as they can to make us into great players. Coach Austin is not corrupt, he has help me with hitting and got me out of a slump and i prolly had the best hitting season ive had n a while, Kitchen as well. They are the best coaches that Jackson needs and im glad that they are going to be there next season.
ball31inhand,
Perhaps you need to pay more attention in class and worry less about sports. Your grammar could use some improvement. That being said, I know both these coaches and I can't think of two more qualified young men than Kitchen and Austin.
GO JACKSON ..and this comes from a Cape Gir. wolf.
Champs... You have no idea how much hard work and dedication the coaches at Jackson have put in the last few years. When Rex Crosnoe took the job several years ago, he transformed the ideology of that program. He taught high school kids the right way to play the game and had high expectations for character as well as performance. He passed the torch to Coach French who was criticized for cutting borderline athletes with questionable moral character and/or poor academic performance in favor of young men who were slightly less talented (but worked hard and had positive attitudes). If that's politics, I'm voting for THEM! Coach Kitchen and Coach Austin are fantastic coaches and are the RIGHT men to lead the program going forward.
Ballsnstrikes, quit being a drama queen. I guarantee you that you haven't been to as many games as I have the last several years (if you have, it just shows that you are clueless as to what makes a quality coach at the high school level).
Coach Austin, you are the first person I have seen on here to give their real name and state facts instead of trying to present hysteria. If you are a Jackson citizen and you're reading this... be proud of your school district's administration for staying within the program to have these two men lead the program going forward. Go out, introduce yourself to the coaching staff, and formulate your own opinions. They are two classy young men who you'll love... if you get to know them.
I have been reading all these comments and decided I, like this 'Coach Austin', would use my true identity. I have coached at all levels of baseball for 44 years (3 months with the MLB as the Expos RGO: Radar Gun Operator). In my time I have come to realize that most folks associated with legion 'baseball' don't know a whole lot one way or the other. In my time as a scout, coach, parent (I had three boys who played this game admirably; two made professional teams and one lost his vision on a high fastball so don't tell me about committment), I have seen many coaches, corrupt and pure-hearted, and have yet to see a solid Jr. Legion baseball mind. The true talent in the coaching world is in the showcase leagues or 'club teams' as the midwest refers to them. I noticed in moving back here that you have one such club called, I think, the Cherokees . . . now that is a ball club. I have personally met and witnessed Coach Talley Haines, icognito of course--I wanted to see how he coached unaware of a talent evaluation--and that is how a youth development team should be run; in fact, it is not too far from how Coach Bobby Cox manages the Atlanta Braves: you may have heard of that squad? Posing as an umpire I watched Haines manuever and inspire, and, though I am no expert on these other coaches, it seems like Jackson really missed the boat--a bonified yacht--on this one. I will be evaluating several other coaches as part of a collective data report I am turning in on youth baseball, so I will let you know when I have more information. But for my money, and for the area youths eager to learn this wondrous past time of ours, Coach Haines is a stellar option.
Play a Hard Nine,
Coach J Wulfers
I have been reading all these comments and decided I, like this 'Coach Austin', would use my true identity. I have coached at all levels of baseball for 44 years (3 months with the MLB as the Expos RGO: Radar Gun Operator). In my time I have come to realize that most folks associated with legion 'baseball' don't know a whole lot one way or the other. In my time as a scout, coach, parent (I had three boys who played this game admirably; two made professional teams and one lost his vision on a high fastball so don't tell me about committment), I have seen many coaches, corrupt and pure-hearted, and have yet to see a solid Jr. Legion baseball mind. The true talent in the coaching world is in the showcase leagues or 'club teams' as the midwest refers to them. I noticed in moving back here that you have one such club called, I think, the Cherokees . . . now that is a ball club. I have personally met and witnessed Coach Talley Haines, icognito of course--I wanted to see how he coached unaware of a talent evaluation--and that is how a youth development team should be run; in fact, it is not too far from how Coach Bobby Cox manages the Atlanta Braves: you may have heard of that squad? Posing as an umpire I watched Haines manuever and inspire, and, though I am no expert on these other coaches, it seems like Jackson really missed the boat--a bonified yacht--on this one. I will be evaluating several other coaches as part of a collective data report I am turning in on youth baseball, so I will let you know when I have more information. But for my money, and for the area youths eager to learn this wondrous past time of ours, Coach Haines is a stellar option.
Play a Hard Nine,
Coach J Wulfers
I have been reading all these comments and decided I, like this 'Coach Austin', would use my true identity. I have coached at all levels of baseball for 44 years (3 months with the MLB as the Expos RGO: Radar Gun Operator). In my time I have come to realize that most folks associated with legion 'baseball' don't know a whole lot one way or the other. In my time as a scout, coach, parent (I had three boys who played this game admirably; two made professional teams and one lost his vision on a high fastball so don't tell me about committment), I have seen many coaches, corrupt and pure-hearted, and have yet to see a solid Jr. Legion baseball mind. The true talent in the coaching world is in the showcase leagues or 'club teams' as the midwest refers to them. I noticed in moving back here that you have one such club called, I think, the Cherokees . . . now that is a ball club. I have personally met and witnessed Coach Talley Haines, icognito of course--I wanted to see how he coached unaware of a talent evaluation--and that is how a youth development team should be run; in fact, it is not too far from how Coach Bobby Cox manages the Atlanta Braves: you may have heard of that squad? Posing as an umpire I watched Haines manuever and inspire, and, though I am no expert on these other coaches, it seems like Jackson really missed the boat--a bonified yacht--on this one. I will be evaluating several other coaches as part of a collective data report I am turning in on youth baseball, so I will let you know when I have more information. But for my money, and for the area youths eager to learn this wondrous past time of ours, Coach Haines is a stellar option.
Play a Hard Nine,
Coach J Wulfers
mr. jim wulfers, obviously you dont know coach mark lewis. he is the jackson sr. legion coach and he is one of the best coaches i have seen. so you saying that a legion coach doesnt know much, you dont know very much. The Cherokees when is the last time they won a tournament. Have you even seen them play
CoachJimWulfers=fake... Was that sarcasm?