J.W. Salyers has seen the game of baseball from all kinds of angles.
He was a star pitcher at Pound High School and helped the Wildcats reach the Virginia High School League Group A state tournament. He parlayed that success into a professional career and advanced as high as the Class AAA level in the Montreal Expos' minor league system.
But after injuries cut his pro career short, he went into coaching. He's fared well, guiding Castlewood to Cumberland District regular-season titles in each of his four seasons as the Blue Devils' head coach.
Salyers left Castlewood after last season and returned to Wise County, taking over the head coaching duties at Powell Valley. So far, so good.
Salyers has won three of his first four games as the Vikings' boss.
"The transition has [gone] smoothly," Salyers said. "There is a lot of interest in baseball at Powell Valley. My assistant coaches are second to none and do a really good job at teaching the game. The kids are all very coachable, hard working and eager to learn baseball.
"Most of these players have played the game since Little League and have "?baseball knowledge' already instilled in them. Many players play on various travel teams. I've never had so many kids devote so much time to baseball. That is highly encouraging for a new coach."
Salyers inherited a team that had just one senior member and the roster is underclassmen-heavy.
"Having a youthful team has been a challenge to this point," Salyers said. "Our coaches and myself find ourselves teaching a lot during actually games. For an older team, you just let them play the game and do most of the teaching during practice instead of the games. In the long run, the hard work these kids are putting in now will pay off."
Especially since they have a coach with a proven track record.
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