By T. Scott Boatright
In a heartfelt email sent to the Cedar Creek School staff and family on Wednesday, longtime head baseball coach Ben Haddox announced he was stepping dowm from that role.
Last month Haddox relinquished his athletics director duties to former head football coach Shannon Brown, who was promoted to assistant principal for the upcoming year in addition to his new AD duties.
In the email, Haddox admitted the decision wasn’t an easy one, and called it the second-hardest thing he had ever done other than handing his then 16-month old over to a nurse prior to the son’s open-heart surgery in 2012.
“Today, I am not doing the hardest thing I have ever done,” Haddox wrote. “I am doing the second hardest thing I have ever done. You see, when I was in high school I wanted to be a Major League baseball player, however after my sophomore year in college I discovered that there weren’t many scouts coveting a 5-9, 155-pound average second baseman … who knew?? Hahaha. While I wanted to be a baseball player, my dream since my early high school years was to be the Head Baseball Coach at Cedar Creek School … not my want, but my dream. For the last 15 years Cedar Creek School, its administration, faculty, parents, and, most importantly, student athletes have allowed me to live out my dream.”
In the email, Haddox, who purchased National Jeweler’s earlier this year, left an open future as far as his continued involvement with the school.
“I am always here to help and be involved in any capacity that I can to make a difference,” Haddox wrote. “I do not know what that is going to look like, but I know I am excited about the possibilities. I have had the extreme good fortune of enjoying the same viewpoint of every baseball game over the last decade and a half (with the exception of the birth of my daughter, Peyton, where I missed one game vs. Grambling … we got the win!) from the first spot on the railing in the dugout and the third base coach’s box, but I am going to love seeing the boys play from all new angles now. I feel confident in saying that I am the biggest Cedar Creek baseball fan that there has ever been and ever will be, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
As ended the email, Haddox stressed he had faith that he was making the right decision for himself and his family.
“I feel proud, humbled, and honored to have been a small part of it over the last 21 years as a player and a coach,” Haddox wrote. “Every day after practice and games when we thanked the Lord for our many blessings we always finished with one last word … FAITH.
“Faith guides me now and knowing God has a plan makes me incredibly excited about the future. I love all of you and again am most grateful for the relationships with you all that meant more to me than any of you will ever know. And next spring, as always, I hope to see you all at the ballpark.”
