Holtville mourns former coach

Build it and they will come.

Christopher Motes may have never won a state championship in baseball at Holtville but his fingerprints are all over the program and the field the team plays on.

Coaches, friends and family gathered on the field built more than 20 years ago Sunday for a vigil to remember a life lost tragically and unexpectedly Friday.

They shared stories of on the field antics, moments of coaching after dark and favorite memories but most importantly remembered the caring and giving person Motes was.

Former Bulldog coach Wendell Jackson was hired in 1998 to lead the Bulldogs on the diamond.

“I never put my name down as head coach,” Jackson said. “I put my name down as coach because Chris Motes and I coached together. Nobody was above the other.”

The field the vigil was on was a pipe dream. Jackson and Motes coached on the old field closer to the school. During football season they took a walk down the road — dreaming of a better field for the team.

“We heard a tractor going through here,” Jackson said. “We couldn’t see it. We played on it that season.”

Jackson left and Moates was head coach from 2003 to 2010 leading the team to a 23-13 record his final year at Holtville.

Motes never stopped. He was always at the field working on something. At the same time he was teaching life lessons such as taking care of items. Gloves were never thrown. They were placed gently down to respect what they had.

The coach used every chance to mentor. Holtville Class of 2022 graduate Todd Wilson grew up around the Motes household and was friends with his children.

“It didn’t matter what it was, coach Motes was going to be there for the boys, the girls, anybody,” Wilson said. “If you were a kid, coach Motes loved you. It didn’t matter what it was. He used it for a metaphor for life.” 

Wilson recalled life wasn’t always baseball. He said he attended a birthday party for Motes’ son Brady. He built a wrestling ring for the party because Brady loved wrestling.

Wilson didn’t necessarily want to speak at the vigil on a field filled with memories and victories, but he felt called to do so. He wanted to share memories of a person he looked up to.

“It is hard because if he was here he would be pepping the guys up or yelling at an umpire,” Wilson said. “You didn’t want to miss a call with that as a coach. You didn’t want to miss a ground ball with that guy as a coach and you didn’t want to mess up with him as if he was your dad.”

Motes had moved to south Alabama but he still bled Holtville green.

Current Bulldog baseball coach Scott Tubbs remembers Motes reaching out to him before Tubbs ever coached a game in Holtville.

“I don’t think people realize how connected he was to the program even though he wasn’t here,” Tubbs said.

The old ball coach scouted teams Holtville might match up with in the playoffs. Motes gave Tubbs scouting reports on potential matchups.

“Even though he wasn’t here, he wanted us to be successful,” Tubbs said.

Tubbs led the Bulldogs to a state runner up in 2022. But it was good enough for Tubbs. It was Motes that helped Tubbs persevere. 

“I was miserable. I wanted to crawl into a hole,” Tubbs said. “I had a lot of guys I wanted to see go out a champion. He called me several times and encouraged me. [He] told me to get out of that hole.”

The next year the Bulldogs won the state championship. On the bus ride home to Holtville it was quiet.

“You could hear a mouse in a church,” Tubbs said. “After five weeks of grind and excitement, the guys were physically and mentally done.”

Motes called Tubbs on the ride home.  

“He just wanted to say that there were a lot of coaches that wanted to get this done for this school,” Tubbs said. “He said he was super proud for me and for our guys. He was always a call away. He was always there to help me encourage the guys. I was super proud to call him a friend.”

After the call, the attitude on the bus changed. But it was a difficult phone call to take Friday when Tubbs got the news of Motes untimely death. He knew the connections to the team and community. He called assistant baseball coach Dan Shaw. They knew they had to talk to the team.

“My fear is it has happened a couple of times over the last few weeks, I don’t want my players to feel like that is the way out,” Tubbs said. “We had a big talk Friday and said I don’t care if we hit a baseball, what I want to do is make sure these kids know they got to find somebody to talk to if things aren’t going their way.”

Tubbs encouraged everyone at the vigil to reach out if they feel in trouble. 

“Find that one person to talk to,” Tubbs said. “That is what I tell my players, because I don't want to sit here and do this again.” 

Tubbs knows Motes isn’t far from the Bulldogs on the diamond. Holtville has been struggling at the plate the month of February — until the day after Motes’ death, that is.

“I don’t think we have had a hit since Moby Dick was a minnow,” Tubbs said. “We came out against Chilton County and scored five runs in the first inning [Saturday]. That was coach Motes’ number. The second inning five more runs. I knew who was watching over us. I appreciate him for doing that. I’m sure he will be with us the rest of the season.”

Wilson is confident Motes influenced many on and off the field. 

“He was more than a coach,” Wilson said. “He was one of the greatest role models I have ever known.”