COVINGTON, Ga. — When spring time hits and it’s time to break out the bats and gloves, at Newton there will be a familiar face missing in the dugout. 

Rams head baseball coach Andre Byrd will be that face. 

Byrd’s four-year tenure at the helm of Newton baseball will come to an end as he has accepted a job in administration at Creekside High School. 

Which means, at least for the time being, he’ll step away from coaching for a while. But it’ll always be in his blood, just like his Newton teams. It’s just that this opportunity was too good for him to pass up.

“I planted my seed in Newton County 11 years ago, and the people in Newton have watered me with a wealth of knowledge in education to help me grow,” Byrd said. “My plant has gotten so big that it’s time that I re-pot to see how much more it can grow or how much bigger it’ll get.” 

He definitely isn’t calling his time at Newton High small though — particularly when it comes to coaching his baseball players. 

“Coaching in Newton served as a platform for me to reach young males through sports to prepare them for the real world, and we just happened win a lot of games in the process,” Byrd said. 

Byrd took several teams to the state tournament and has seen a good sized handful of players leave his program and go on to play in college. He also expressed faith and confidence that his successor, James Jackson, will do a great job.

We'll have more in the coming week regarding the Rams' selection for their next baseball coach.