~ Crosnoe will serve as the assistant principal at Central Middle School.

Rex Crosnoe's tenure as Jackson's baseball coach may have been brief, but in four years the former area standout transformed the Indians into one of the top programs in the area.

Jackson went 66-29 in Crosnoe's four years, a .695 winning percentage. During the past four years Jackson has finished above .500 all four years, peaking with 19 wins in 2002. The Indians also captured a district title in 2002, their first since 1993, and have made the district championship in three of Crosnoe's four seasons.

"For any coach to be a good coach you have to have good players, and we did," Crosnoe said. "I had good coaches who worked with me.

"We got to accomplish some things that hadn't been done much at Jackson. That's not me, that's the players. I had the opportunity to come in at a good time when we had some players."

Crosnoe, a Central and Southeast Missouri State alumnus, recently was named assistant principal at the Central Middle School. With his move to administration, Crosnoe will not coach at the high school level next year.

"In a way [it[']s difficult], as far as the players that are still coming," Crosnoe said of not coaching. "Baseball has been a part of my life since I was 8. Not that it won't continue to be a big part of my life. Still, coaching high school baseball was a lot of fun. I enjoyed teaching the game."

For now, Crosnoe will get his coaching fix by coaching his sons. As for a return to high school coaching, he hasn't ruled out that possibility.

"You never know what's going to happen down the line," Crosnoe said.