COVINGTON, Ga. — Earlier today, via Twitter, Jimmy Hughes announced his resignation as head baseball coach at Alcovy High School.
“We all have to reflect on the good, the bad and the ugly at the end of every season,” Hughes’ statement read. “After taking a few weeks to analyze and think about the state of the program, now is the time to hand over the reins to someone else.”
Later in the announcement, Hughes mentioned how involved he has been outside of coaching baseball. He’s a GHSA football official, coaches travel baseball and help leads the youth group at his church in addition to his teaching responsibilities at Alcovy.
“Eventually, we all learn in life that we have to take things off our players when they start to overflow,” Hughes’ statement read.
Also included in Hughes’ announcement was recognition of his players stressing he’ll always cheer them on while being their “biggest fan.”
Hughes has been the head baseball coach at Alcovy since his hiring on May 9, 2018. Under his tutelage, the Tigers went 29-72 overall. The Tigers are coming off a season where they qualified for the state playoffs for the first time since 2013, too.
But, as Hughes steps down from his head coaching role, he believes the program’s heading in the right direction.
“While we haven’t been where we wanted to be, the corner is certainly being turned,” Hughes’ statement read. “This group of young men got into the state playoffs for the first time in nine years. The [junior varsity] team turned in a pair of seasons finishing above .500, which hadn’t been accomplished a single time in the baseball team’s history.”
Hughes also recognized that parent involvement has skyrocketed since he took over the program.
All in all, Hughes is optimistic about where the Tigers are headed. And, even though he’ll be the head coach no longer, Hughes expressed his belief in a bright future ahead for the program.
“It’s going to be gratifying to see this group host and win playoff series in the near future,” Hughes’ statement read. “The kids are FAR closer than they have ever been. I have ZERO doubt that these kids are going to continue the positive trends on the south side of the county. They are just getting started!”
