It’s the goal for any coach to reach the milestone of 100 career wins and for Edgewood baseball coach Justin Jones, it’s now a reality.
Following a 19-6 victory over Hooper Academy, Jones now holds the illustrious honor of picking up 100 career wins since his arrival to Edgewood in 2019. But he couldn’t do it alone; he praised both the contributions from his assistant coaching staff as well as the players both current and past for getting to this point.
“Getting to 100 wins was a goal of mine; I think it’s a goal of any coach, especially when you're young and you first get in it to see how fast you can get there,” Jones said. “But I'll say this: I've got really, really good assistant coaches, and I got really, really good players, and if it wasn't for them, then it would make my job extremely difficult. They'd make it as easy as it could be.”
The beginning of his tenure did not quite go according to plan, not by any faults of his own. The COVID-19 pandemic shortened Edgewood’s schedule dramatically. However, slowly but surely the win started to come with it all culminating in Edgewood's state runner-up season last year, where they accrued over 25 wins along the way.
“I got here the year of COVID,” Jones said. “So we only played 10 games that year. So to get 100 wins, and about four and a half years is an accomplishment. And it contests the players that we've had in the last couple of years.”
Of course, every win is valuable to Jones, but according to him, this 100th victory was eerily similar to when he notched his first win with Edgewood Academy.
“The first one is a great feeling to get up under your belt, and then you get that same little butterfly feeling in your stomach when you get the 100th one,” Jones said. “And so, you know, as a coach, if you ever lose that passion, then that's a contestant to might want to think of another avenues to go.”
Not only has the team grown in Jones’ tenure as the head coach, but so has he. He’s learned valuable lessons throughout his career that have played dividends to Edgewood’s play in the diamond — with most concerning how he leads his squad.
“But the things you learn along the way is just how to handle the young men,” Jones said. “You got to coach a team, but you got to coach the individuals, and you got to coach the individuals to be the best that they could be. So that way is the best for the team. They can't be cookie cutter with being a coach, you got to be able to coach each individual and get the best out of them. So that way you get the best from the team.”
The wins show no sign of going anywhere anytime soon. Already the Wildcats are out to a 14-6 start to the season and are competing in a tournament in Panama City, Florida, against some of the best teams in the country. Even with fierce competition in front of them, Jones is making sure his team knows they’re capable of facing anyone in front of them.
“As a coach, the way I've always been is, you know, never being afraid to play anybody,” Jones said. “We’ll line it up; you may beat me; we may beat you, but we're going to line it up. We're going to see what happens.”
