Barnett's first season as head coach on hold at Milligan

This story first appeared in the Johnson City Press.

Skyler Barnett's first season as a head coach was going smoothly.

His Milligan College baseball team was tied for first place in the Appalachian Athletic Conference and had already picked up 14 wins, including three in a row. Then the call came to shut it all down when the conference canceled all spring sports because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"That was tough to hear, but the bigger picture is keeping everybody safe," Barnett said. "You know, it just is what it is. It's out of our control. We have to put baseball aside, everything aside, and look at the big picture.

"It's been crazy having weekends where we're not on the baseball field in March and April. It takes some getting used to."

Like everybody else who had been forced to spend more time at home than usual, Barnett, a 30-year-old Johnson City native and former East Tennessee State player, is getting a lot done these days. It's just not what he expected to be doing.

"We've been recruiting, working on our field, communicating with our players when we can," he said. "We're doing the best we can."

Recruiting might be the biggest challenge, considering none of the players he is recruiting are actually playing baseball. None of the high school players had a senior season, so Barnett, like other coaches, is forced to use his imagination.

"Just like everything else, it's all at a stop," he said. "We're all in this together. You go off of video and you go off of relationships you built in the past. We have stockpiled a lot of names and been in contact with a lot of different coaches of high school teams, elite travel teams and junior colleges. We're going off of what we've seen in the past and what they say."

With no baseball to coach and orders from the governor to stay home, Barnett's spring has been one he'll remember for the rest of his career.

"It's kind of awkward," he said. "You feel like you're locked up staying at home, but in reality you have some freedom to do things you didn't realize you'd be able to do — like read a book.

"You're not really thinking so much about Xs and Os right now. You have a little bit more freedom to spend time with your family, talk to your neighbor, obviously with social distancing of course."

After working at Walters State, Lincoln Memorial, Carson-Newman, Austin Peay and serving as a volunteer assistant at ETSU, Barnett came to Milligan for his first head coaching gig. He replaced David Grewe, the former Michigan State head coach, who went 20-26 in his only season at Milligan.

"It is a title change and there's some duties that are different and you're writing the lineup," Barnett said. "But I think in all reality when you surround yourself with good assistant coaches that are level-headed and on the same wave length you are, it's just kind of more a uniformed unit. That's what we have here."

Barnett is assisted by Bryan Mossman and Joey Selitto along with longtime Elizabethton Twins manager and Appalachian League legend Ray Smith.

"They've all been outstanding for us," Barnett said. "Ray has been extremely helpful. He has offered a lot of insight. I try to bend his ear any chance I can get."

Being the head coach really didn't feel different during the preseason, Barnett said. But that first game was when reality set in.

"You realize this is happening," he said. "You're the one walking out there handing out the lineup card. There is a little difference. At the end of the day, though, it's still baseball. I've been fortunate to work for a lot of good coaches and learn a lot of things from them."

Barnett said he felt ready to become a head coach and he couldn't be more happy it happened at Milligan.

"I think it's more about where you're at," he said. "I think Milligan's a really special place. What makes it special is the people around it and the people within it. I'm really lucky for work for Mark Fox and President Bill Greer. We get a lot of support and help when we need it. It's the people here that make it special."

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