CHARLESTON — The sadness in the eyes of Trinity Christian coach Mike Baldy revealed everything as he embraced Reagan Sharp in her final high school game.
The pair met at the scorer’s table Friday following Trinity’s Class A semifinal loss to Parkersburg Catholic. Sharp — as well as her fellow five seniors — were Baldy’s first freshman class as a head coach.
“A tough day for me, and there’s been a lot of tears and a lot of emotions,” Baldy said. “I’ve come such a long way with this group of six seniors and now it’s over. They’ve been such a big part of my life, and now it’s over. Every practice plan I’ve drawn up over the past four years has been with them in mind. We’ve formed an incredible bond over the past four years.”
In 2015, Baldy took the helm of a floundering program, and inherited a roster without a ton of experience. Together, with that freshman class, they blossomed into a state tournament team.
“It’s been an incredible journey. We’ve had a great group of coaches, we’ve had a lot of fun, and we’ve taken this program to a place we never thought it would be,” Sharp said. “To see where we are now, we’re incredibly blessed just to be able to come down here to states and represent our school.”
The first year was rough for the ninth-graders. They finished the season with four wins. It laid the foundation for the Warriors making back-to-back trips to Charleston.
“It’s been exciting. We’ve had bumps along the way but the girls have achieved so much over the past four years. It happened with a lot of hard work and dedication,” Baldy said. “They’ve earned everything they’ve gotten.”
The graduating class of Leighton Croft, Paige Dixon, Kate Dlugos, Kaylie Laskody, Rachel Rosen, and Sharp set the standard.
“I hope those left in this program can see that we set our minds to something and follow that up in the future,” Sharp said. “I hope they realize they’re getting a lot of exposure, and they can take that and work hard and in a couple years be in the same position we’re in.”
