Q&A with Burlington Christian Academy head baseball coach Justin Brown
BURLINGTON, N.C. — A Q&A with Justin Brown, who is the head baseball coach at Burlington Christian Academy.
How long have you been coaching?
Justin Brown: 12 years, 2 years as Head Coach at BCA
What is your background in this sport?
Brown: I played high school baseball at Northeast Guilford. I continued my baseball career at Louisburg College and then went on to play at Belmont Abbey.聽 My coaching career began at Northeast Guilford as the pitching coach for the varsity team.聽 From there, I was blessed to be the head coach for the North Carolina Baseball Academy Golden Spikes.聽 I have an excellent relationship with the owner, Scott Bankhead and credit much of my success to his lessons and guidance. I have also served as the pitching coach at Rockingham Community College and as former associate scout for the New York Mets and the Seattle Mariners.
What are one or two things that the team does in training that are keys to their success?
Brown: We focused heavily on team building and relationships in the beginning which has created a strong team oriented program.聽 They support and build each other up consistently and work hard to make eachother better.
Please describe the most memorable games/tournaments/championships your team has won.
Brown: This聽 year, our team is making school history.聽 When we started the season, we addressed weakness head on and knew we had a lot of hard work to do.聽 We set a goal to win 6 games (the most in school history)this season.聽 We met that goal with more than half of our regular season left to play.聽 As of the time of this interview, we are sitting at 7 wins.聽 Let鈥檚 Go Royals!
How do you encourage the team after a disappointing loss?
Brown:聽To begin, I remind them where we started and how much we鈥檝e grown from season to season.聽 Next, we discuss what we learned; what went well, what didn鈥檛.聽 By God鈥檚 grace, we step on that field from week to week and we are always learning and growing.
Describe your proudest coaching moment.聽
Brown: Again, I go back to this season.聽 I鈥檝e coached a lot of really good baseball teams but have never been involved in building a program from the ground up. I am proud of the brotherhood we鈥檝e built and the buy-in that our coaching staff has created.聽 Our team is built on faith, hard work and determination.
What is the biggest life lesson you’ve learned from being a coach?
Brown: Relationships are vital in the success of a coach.聽 You will get out of your players what you pour into them.聽 They need to know you have their back, you support them and they can trust you.聽 God has consistently placed me in situations that have pushed me to be better and do better.
What legacy do you hope to leave as a coach?
Brown: First and most importantly, I want my players to look at me and see a man of God.聽 I want to leave a legacy of positive leadership where we fight to win, we fight for what is right and we always work hard.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Brown: I am greatly humbled by this opportunity to speak on a sport that I love.聽 I am so passionate about this game and teaching this game to future generations.聽 Baseball has afforded me so many opportunities in life where I have met amazing coaches, players, parents, etc.聽 God has truly blessed me.
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