By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
CEDAR BLUFF – Just how excited is Colby Coursey to be back coaching close to home?
A day after he was officially given the reins of the Cedar Bluff team, Coursey, who takes over for former baseball coach Jim Nelson, coached the Tigers in a pair of scrimmage games against Sand Rock. On Thursday morning, he had them continuing their workout programs, so they haven’t missed a beat in preparing for 2024.
“We’ve got a lot of room for growth, a lot of room for development, but I saw a lot of good things (in the scrimmage games) that have me excited for the season,” he said.
Of course it doesn’t hurt Coursey’s feelings to be heading up a program with such a strong athletic tradition. Prior to the last two seasons, Cedar Bluff made the state baseball playoffs 16 of the previous 17 years.
“The history at Cedar Bluff speaks for itself here, going back to Bobby Mintz and when Coach (Taylor) Talbot was here,” the 36-year-old Coursey said. “They’ve had very successful seasons, long, deep playoff runs. My goal here is to get us back to that winning tradition every year, compete for area championships, compete for county championships every year. I know that’s a big thing in this county. That’s two of our biggest goals here. We want to get back that pride and tradition.”
Coursey is quite familiar with the area. He’s the husband of Cherokee County High School softball pitching great Lauren Millsaps. The couple has two young children (Hadley and Ellis) and resides in Leesburg.
Coursey also coached baseball at Cherokee County in 2015 before moving on to Woodland High School in Cartersville, Ga.
The past three years he’s been back in Alabama at Lincoln High School, where he inherited the Golden Bears’ baseball program after his first year there.
“Lincoln was a good opportunity for me. I really loved it and enjoyed it, but having that hour drive every day (from Leesburg) was kind of taxing,” Coursey said. “When I heard about the opportunity here – 20 minutes from our house and to be able to come to a school that prides itself in athletics and the tradition – it really was a no-brainer for me.
“I’m super excited to be back. To me, this is home here in Cherokee County. To be able to lead this program and give back to the community, to see this program grow back to where it used to be is my No. 1 goal.”
Although he’s used coaching at larger schools, Coursey finds it refreshing to be coaching at a smaller school.
“This is definitely the smallest program I’ve been at, so sharing the athletes is a little bit different, but I’m excited about it,” he said. “During summer workouts, our boys numbers are around 60 to 65 kids every day. Seeing those numbers out for workouts is encouraging. You get to meet the kids and look at them, kind of see where their development is and see how you can improve them.”
Coursey doesn’t think it will take long for the Tigers to get back on track.
“Eli McFry and Kaden Pack have been with this baseball program for several years, and the upcoming junior class is loaded with talent. Being able to develop that talent to my philosophy, hopefully I can build them up to be successful. I don’t think it’s going to be a hard transition. I’m a pretty laid back, easy coach. We want to be able to compete and have a chance to win.”