Media release from Rome, GA City Schools:
Ask new Rome High School Baseball Coach Trevor Proctor how he feels about taking over the program, and his face lights up, and he can’t wait to start talking.
“I’m really excited for it. We’ve got a great group of guys coming in and returning. We were a young group last year. We had a few seniors starting out that we’re gonna miss. They played key roles for us,” he says. “We’ve got some young guys that we’re gonna need to step up and take advantage of those opportunities of getting to play.”
Proctor, who is the softball coach for Rome High and served as an assistant baseball coach as well, has a long history with the program and Rome City Schools.
“I’m excited. It’s a program that I was a part of. I went to East Central and went to Rome Middle School. I got to be a part of it as a Rome Middle School baseball player and got to play with the high school guys as an eighth grader,” Proctor says. “The program means something to me. I’m going to pour my heart and soul into it because it’s something that I was a part of and I want to see it excel.”
The baseball squad has had a couple of tough seasons having to compete in very difficult regions, but this year’s squad won more games than last.
“I know there’s an expectation with it, and I want to make sure we’re achieving that expectation day in and day out,” Proctor says. “We’ve got a great program. We just need to build off our past success and move forward.We went from three wins last year to nine wins this year, so we’re heading in the right direction. We want to be in the playoffs. We want to be fighting for a region championship,” he says. “Whenever we hit the field, there’s a golden standard. There’s a standard of play that should be expected.”
Proctor also talks about wanting to develop players into more than just baseball players.
“I want all my guys whenever you ask them what their goal is for them to say they want to be able to go and play at the next level in college. I don’t want them to go to college for one year and just hang it up, I want them to be there for four years,” he says. “I think you can establish a good relationship with the college coaches whenever you have players that can go in and do that, and that’s what we want to do.”
Along with that, Proctor wants his players to present themselves well.
“I’m preparing them to go to the next level. The biggest thing is I want my guys to not only be prepared for college but also present themselves well too,” Proctor says. “When our guys are out in the community, I want people to see them and say, ‘they’re very professional.’”
Andy Edwards has spent a lot of time around soccer. He began playing the sport at age four and played all through school up to college. After college, he started coaching and has spent almost two decades doing that.
Edwards is also quite familiar to Rome soccer players. He’s served as a community coach or helped assist with the boys and girls teams at the middle school and high school over the past few years. Along with that, he’s coached club soccer.
That familiarity with the program and his vast knowledge of the game will serve Edwards well as he has been named Coach for Rome High School’s Girls Soccer Team.
“I’m really excited. I mean, this puts me 31 years in, only being the third coach of the program. So it’s really kind of an honor and a neat spot to be at coming after Coach Davis and Coach Hewitt,” Edwards says. “I’m excited. I know the girls. So it’s a fun time to be part of the program.”
The Lady Wolves finished fourth in Region 5-5A this season, earning a state playoff spot, and Edwards says he hopes to continue that as he puts his mark on the program.
“In sports in general, it’s entertainment. I want us to be able to play a style where people want to come watch. Of course, you want results, but there are ways to go about it to make it entertaining as well. That’s what I hope to do,” Edwards says. “There’s a certain style that my teams tend to have. We work the ball well. It tends to be a fluid, fun style. That’s what I hope we can continue with the girls.”
Another big plus is that Edwards is familiar with a lot of the players he will be coaching next season.
“I think having familiarity with the program, the school system, the area, and the player pool makes a huge difference. I have a general idea of where some of these players are comfortable, what they can do, and what they can’t do,” he says. “It gives me a head start going into the summer and trying to see and kind of fill in pieces. Mentally, all of us coaches love to put things together, but that’ll definitely start falling into place as we go into the summer and into the fall.”
Along with the familiarity is an excitement that can be seen in his body language and heard in his voice as he talks about the future of girls soccer at Rome High.
“I’m just really excited to get things going, and excited to be out there with the girls. It’s fun to be officially back with the high school and getting to get in to lead the program,” he says.