Boatner still active coaching after retiring from West Lauderdale

Published 8:29 pm Friday, June 7, 2019

Jerry Boatner actually lives closer to a baseball field now than he did when he was most recently a Mississippi resident.

While Boatner’s Collinsville house was 10 minutes or so from West Lauderdale High School, the former longtime Knights head baseball coach has been living in Jefferson, Georgia, since retiring from West Lauderdale following the 2018 season. Near where he lives is West Jackson Middle School, and Boatner has taken to spending his free time working as a volunteer coach for the school’s baseball team.

West Jackson’s baseball field is a mere minutes and 50 seconds away from Boatner’s house while driving a golf cart he bought despite not being a golfer. It wouldn’t even take that long to get there were it not for a pond.

“I can hear the batting cages from my house,” Boatner said.

After coaching at Clarkdale for five years and West Lauderdale for 45 years — amassing 14 state titles and 1,202 career wins in the process — Boatner and his wife, Linda, moved to Jefferson so they could both be close to family. Boatner wasn’t about to let his life’s passion go, however, as he works with the West Jackson players in the spring and the players at nearby Jackson County High School in the fall.

“I’m not sure I’m retired,” Boatner said. “I’m still involved in baseball and still go to the baseball field every day and work on it except for Sundays.”

In fact, Boatner isn’t sure he could have tolerated not living near a baseball field.

“It would have been hard,” Boatner admitted. “I saw this school on the road one day, and they told me it was a feeder school for Jackson County. Come to find out, it’s just over a minute from my backyard. I enjoy working there.”

That’s not to say there aren’t challenges, Boatner said. West Jackson’s facilities aren’t nearly as nice as the ones at West Lauderdale, and it’s difficult to make inroads in a community where you don’t know anyone after moving there. Still, Boatner said he’s developed a good rapport with the middle schoolers and the current head coach at West Jackson.

“I feel like at my age I can have more of an impact on seventh and eighth graders,” Boatner said. “The guy that was the head coach is going into the ministry, and their assistant coach became the new head coach. He’s doing just about anything I want him to do. He’s got respect for me and is going with all of my recommendations. He takes infield the way we took it (at West Lauderdale) and practices like we practiced, so I’m excited about that.”

There are also subtle differences to coaching in Georgia that were an adjustment for Boatner. Practices take place entirely after school, as there isn’t a designated period during school for athletics. Also, no taxpayer money is used on athletics — it all has to be raised privately.

“But I’m kind of used to that, because that’s how we did it at West Lauderdale,” Boatner said. “We got that down to a science just about. We were able to have a great facility because of help from a lot of people.”

When he isn’t coaching the West Jackson players, Boatner can often be found mowing the lawn of the baseball field at the school. It’s a habit that dates all the way back to his days at Clarkdale, though he never could have imagined back then he would grow to love managing a baseball field.

“When I was in college, the baseball field didn’t mean diddly squat to me,” Boatner said. “Then I got out and started working on the field at Clarkdale, and people started complimenting me, so come to find out I had a gift for it. It’s something where I can see the results after two or three hours of work. I just enjoy doing it. It’s a part of my life, and it means a lot to me.”

Boatner lives approximately an hour from the Braves’ SunTrust Park and is also within two hours of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Auburn and Clemson’s campuses. He’s already been to one Braves game in the last year.

“We’re in a good baseball area,” Boatner said. “I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of these colleges in the near future.”

While he’s now two states away, Boatner still keeps up with his former team. West Lauderdale finished 28-5 this past season and made it all the way to the semifinal round of the MHSAA Class 4A baseball playoffs. He was quick to compliment the job done by head coach Jason Smith, assistant coach Jody Hurst and the rest of the Knights’ staff.

“I want to say how proud I am of how the program is doing,” Boatner said. “Coach Smith coached with me for 12 years, and Coach Hurst for 24 years, so I knew it would be in good hands.”