Whiteoak Wildcats win inaugural statewide Field of the Year Award
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — The Whiteoak Wildcats baseball field has been built and improved upon for the past nearly 30 years under the watch of head coach Chris Veidt. All of their hard work and effort led to their field being honored with the inaugural Field of the Year award, presented at the annual Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Clinic.
The award was presented to Veidt and to Whiteoak High School on Friday, Jan. 19 the Hyatt Regency in Columbus. The award is proof that the hard work by Veidt and many others has paid off since he took over as the Wildcats’ head coach in 1991.
“We began this journey with a poorly maintained ‘skin’ infield,” Veidt told The Highland County Press. “The field had fence running the length of both baselines and a backstop eight feet behind home plate. A big shagbark hickory tree resided in centerfield 240 feet from home plate. There was no outfield fence other than an old rusted farm fence covered in trees and honeysuckle. We also had no dugouts.”
Since then, the Wildcats have built a baseball field that has actual baseball fences, dugouts for home and away teams, a press box and stadium-style seating behind home plate … and of course, the tree is gone. Even this past year, the Wildcats have added a new indoor hitting facility, plus they have infield grass.
When asked about his favorite improvement to the field has been over the years, Veidt — who currently has 345 career coaching wins at Whiteoak —had a few in mind.
“My favorite improvement … that’s a tough one,” Veidt said. “I’d have to go with the new indoor hitting facility and the infield grass. The most necessary improvement we’ve made is the total fence enclosure.”
Known for their play on the field during Veidt’s tenure as the head baseball coach — as his teams have won varying conference, sectional and district championships — Veidt’s program is also known for the field itself as it has won the SE District Field of the Year award for the past 16 years. Another positive about the grass infield at WHS is there are very few rainouts, which can be an issue for the spring season.
Keeping a baseball field at top condition is no easy feat. Mowing the grass and drawing foul lines doesn’t cut it at Whiteoak. Veidt wants to make sure his program has an excellent field to play on, and he does so with a drive and passion that few have. This shows whenever anyone visits the baseball field at Whiteoak, which has dimensions of 310 down the lines, 330 gaps and 410 to centerfield.
“Giving our kids a place to play the game they love, on a field they love, is what drives us,” Veidt said. “Our kids deserve this. Just knowing the pride our community has in this facility and all the hard work everyone has put forth through the years, I feel like it is my responsibility to keep driving forward.
“Working on the field is something we require initially. It’s something our guys expect of themselves and others as they grow.”
Veidt gave credit to those who help with the upkeep of the Wildcats field.
“The work that goes into that field is constant, year-round,” he said. “It is a hobby for me, and I enjoy it. I wouldn’t even want to know how many hours are spent out there. A lot of hard work, love of the game and all the kids and community members helping like they have are what goes into it.
“This is our field. Jeff Mullenix does a selfless job of mowing and treating our grass. He has donated fertilizer, etc. for years from Always Green Lawn Care.”
Veidt and his baseball program aren’t resting on what they have already built on for nearly three decades, but there are still improvements they want to make to the field for future seasons, while the ultimate dream is sports turf for the field.
He also spoke how proud he is for the community for this award, quoting the following: “For the strength of the wolf is the pack, the strength of the pack is the wolf."
“We need to redo our backstop netting, and the next big one is new dugouts and fencing down the base lines,” he said. “Believe it or not, the fence in place there now is the original fence.
“Being the first year for the award and going against schools of all divisions made us very proud. We have come leaps and bounds in 27 years. It has been a group endeavor, and we thank everyone for their contributions.”
The OHSBCA statewide Field of the Year award was sponsored by the Mar-Co Clay Company. The award was presented by Jon Bennett, Ohio Sales Representative out of the Mar-Co Fredericktown, Ohio location. Coach Veidt was presented a banner for the field and will receive products for the Whiteoak High School baseball field.
The award was presented to Veidt and to Whiteoak High School on Friday, Jan. 19 the Hyatt Regency in Columbus. The award is proof that the hard work by Veidt and many others has paid off since he took over as the Wildcats’ head coach in 1991.
“We began this journey with a poorly maintained ‘skin’ infield,” Veidt told The Highland County Press. “The field had fence running the length of both baselines and a backstop eight feet behind home plate. A big shagbark hickory tree resided in centerfield 240 feet from home plate. There was no outfield fence other than an old rusted farm fence covered in trees and honeysuckle. We also had no dugouts.”
Since then, the Wildcats have built a baseball field that has actual baseball fences, dugouts for home and away teams, a press box and stadium-style seating behind home plate … and of course, the tree is gone. Even this past year, the Wildcats have added a new indoor hitting facility, plus they have infield grass.
When asked about his favorite improvement to the field has been over the years, Veidt — who currently has 345 career coaching wins at Whiteoak —had a few in mind.
“My favorite improvement … that’s a tough one,” Veidt said. “I’d have to go with the new indoor hitting facility and the infield grass. The most necessary improvement we’ve made is the total fence enclosure.”
Known for their play on the field during Veidt’s tenure as the head baseball coach — as his teams have won varying conference, sectional and district championships — Veidt’s program is also known for the field itself as it has won the SE District Field of the Year award for the past 16 years. Another positive about the grass infield at WHS is there are very few rainouts, which can be an issue for the spring season.
Keeping a baseball field at top condition is no easy feat. Mowing the grass and drawing foul lines doesn’t cut it at Whiteoak. Veidt wants to make sure his program has an excellent field to play on, and he does so with a drive and passion that few have. This shows whenever anyone visits the baseball field at Whiteoak, which has dimensions of 310 down the lines, 330 gaps and 410 to centerfield.
“Giving our kids a place to play the game they love, on a field they love, is what drives us,” Veidt said. “Our kids deserve this. Just knowing the pride our community has in this facility and all the hard work everyone has put forth through the years, I feel like it is my responsibility to keep driving forward.
“Working on the field is something we require initially. It’s something our guys expect of themselves and others as they grow.”
Veidt gave credit to those who help with the upkeep of the Wildcats field.
“The work that goes into that field is constant, year-round,” he said. “It is a hobby for me, and I enjoy it. I wouldn’t even want to know how many hours are spent out there. A lot of hard work, love of the game and all the kids and community members helping like they have are what goes into it.
“This is our field. Jeff Mullenix does a selfless job of mowing and treating our grass. He has donated fertilizer, etc. for years from Always Green Lawn Care.”
Veidt and his baseball program aren’t resting on what they have already built on for nearly three decades, but there are still improvements they want to make to the field for future seasons, while the ultimate dream is sports turf for the field.
He also spoke how proud he is for the community for this award, quoting the following: “For the strength of the wolf is the pack, the strength of the pack is the wolf."
“We need to redo our backstop netting, and the next big one is new dugouts and fencing down the base lines,” he said. “Believe it or not, the fence in place there now is the original fence.
“Being the first year for the award and going against schools of all divisions made us very proud. We have come leaps and bounds in 27 years. It has been a group endeavor, and we thank everyone for their contributions.”
The OHSBCA statewide Field of the Year award was sponsored by the Mar-Co Clay Company. The award was presented by Jon Bennett, Ohio Sales Representative out of the Mar-Co Fredericktown, Ohio location. Coach Veidt was presented a banner for the field and will receive products for the Whiteoak High School baseball field.