Its been a great run but Im excited for the next chapter. Golf anyone? The Spectrum 07/08/2014, Page B02 BASEBALL Thunders HC Beck steps down By Stephen Vincent For The Spectrum & Daily News Jerry Beck, the man who built Desert Hills baseball program into a state powerhouse, resigned as the Thunder baseball coach Monday morning in a letter delivered to the Desert Hills administration. There was no major issue, Beck told The Spectrum Monday night. The parents have been great. I feel like weve done some things with the program that has it in good shape, so that whoever takes over can keep growing it. With his children growing older and the demands of the job growing, Beck decided to end his days as a baseball coach. Ive gotten to know Coach Beck pretty well, said Desert Hills athletic director Troy Coil. He is a person of high character. Hes what you want a coach to be someone the kids can look up to and respect. Beck coached six seasons at Snow Canyon, four as head coach, in the early 2000s. He led the Warriors to the 2002 state championship. Beck called that championship the highlight of his time as a baseball coach. But Beck said the other highlight was starting the Desert Hills baseball program when the school opened. In his six seasons with the Thunder, the baseball program blossomed, culminating in consecutive state championship game appearances the last two seasons. To start the program at Desert Hills and see it grow to where it is today, thats probably as rewarding as anything, Beck said. Beck will continue to work as a school counselor at Desert Hills. After teaching the first part of his career, Beck decided to return to school to get a masters degree in counseling from Utah State University. He earned that degree between his stints as the head coach at Snow Canyon and Desert Hills. Because of that time away from baseball, Beck knows he will ache for the game this spring. I went through that a little when I stepped down at Snow Canyon, Beck said. Theres nothing like Region 9 baseball. The competition is unreal. Theres always going to be a part of me thats going to want to compete. Beck first became involved in baseball growing up in Goshen, being introduced to the sport by his father and two older brothers. Beck went onto star for the Payson Lions in high school. A gap-to-gap hitter with a little pop in his bat, Beck played college baseball for Snow and SUU, befriending college teammates Jeramie Ybriht and Marc Nielson the two men whove been his assistants with both the Warriors and the Thunder. Beck lost contact with them after college, but right as he was named Snow Canyons skipper, he had chance meetings with both of them. It was one of those destiny things, Beck said. Beck credited the hard work of his assistants and players for any success he has had. Its not just been me, Beck added. Ive been blessed with amazing assistants. Weve been blessed to have good kids, both on and off the field. I would just like to tell the Thunder baseball community thanks. Ive enjoyed my time at Desert Hills. Coil said the administration has not yet discussed the process or timeline for hiring a new baseball coach, although Coil said they would likely look within the program first for continuitys sake and expand their search from there.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 05:54:46 +0000
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