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Marvin Schade is named Mustang baseball coach
A former high school baseball coach from Pennsylvania is the new baseball coach at Smoky Mountain.
Marvin Schade, a visiting professor in the health and human performance program at Western Carolina, was approved Monday by the Jackson County Board of Education to take over the Mustang program.
He replaces Ron Yount, who resigned after four seasons and a 20-59 record. SM was 6-14 last year.
“I’m excited about it,” Schade said of his new position. “I saw some games over the past couple of years, and I think they’ve had some great athletes. I’m hoping we can go in there, build a good staff and hope the kids make the commitment to make Smoky Mountain a successful program.”
A Pennsylvania native, Schade earned a bachelor’s degree from Lock Haven University and a master’s from Penn State. He taught and coached for 31 years in Pennsylvania public schools. Schade coached football, soccer and softball but said baseball is his favorite sport.
He served around 10-12 years as head coach of the Lewisburg (Penn.) High baseball team. The 1999 squad placed fourth in the state.
His baseball experience also includes coaching in Little League and American Legion programs.
“Baseball has been a big part of the Schades’ life for a lot of years,” he said.
His two sons have reached the professional ranks.
Ryan Schade played at Western and finished in 2002. He played three years in the Florida Marlins organization.
Younger son Scott played at Auburn and was with the Atlanta Braves organization for three years. He now plays for the Washington Nationals organization.
“Experience is the biggest thing along with his enthusiasm,” Athletic Director Mutt DeGraffenreid said. “Over the years, he’s put kids in college ball and the pros, including his sons.”
Schade accepted the job at WCU in 2004.
“I was looking to refire and have some new adventures after 31 years, and there was a position open at Western,” Schade said. “We knew something about Western and knew we liked the area.”
He pointed out that with several players from Western North Carolina, especially from Roberson, having been drafted recently that this is a good time for players to get attention in this area.
“We’ll play fundamental baseball,” the coach said. “We’ll spend a lot of time on the fundamentals and a lot of time on teamwork. If I have some guys who can hit the ball out of the park that’s great, but if not we’ll manufacture runs too.”
“He talked about basic fundamentals and being a year round program,” DeGraffenreid said. “I like his personality. He has a personality that influences kids. He’s also a strict disciplinarian.”
DeGraffenreid has set a goal of having all head coaches being on staff at the school, but he’s not worried that Schade doesn’t fall in that category.
“We’d like to have them all in house, but this was one person we really felt we needed,” he said.
For his part, Schade is anxious to return to the field.
“I miss baseball, and I’m really excited about it,” he said. “I love to teach baseball. I can’t wait to get started.”
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