Newcomb to add baseball team for 2018 season
Skyhawks looking to provide more opportunities for athletes
FARMINGTON — Newcomb High School will field a baseball team for the first time in school history next season.
Shawn Miller, the athletic director at Newcomb, said the decision to add a baseball program comes from a push from the students who have expressed interest in playing baseball.
"As an athletic director, especially in the area here, I felt that every kid should have the opportunity to play another sport and to have baseball in Newcomb," Miller said. "I got a lot of feedback and interest from the male student athletes in regard to baseball."
Another big factor in adding a baseball team is the school's philosophy of giving students as many options and opportunities as possible.
"It's a positive thing for the community, but even more of a positive for our male students here at Newcomb," Miller said. "It gives them the opportunity to play another sport. We don't want our athletes to be one-sport athletes, we want them to be all-around athletes and have the chance to play multiple sports. They should have all the privileges that can be presented to them and the opportunities to perform."
Miller said the school is in the very early stages of building a team. The primary focus now is making sure the school has the resources to put the Skyhawks on the field, such as room in the budget for travel so the team knows how many games it can schedule.
Miller said the school has begun talking with other nearby baseball programs about scheduling games.
A coaching search hasn't started yet. Miller said the school has had some problems getting coaches to commit to the school in the past, but he won't let a potentially tough coaching search slow down the team's inaugural season.
"It's all a work in progress right now," Miller said. "The focus right now is making sure we have the foundation set and that we have things allocated and everything in place for our athletes to make it happen."
Karl Schneider is the sports editor for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4648.