Greater Beckley Christian catcher Reece Patterson sowed his seeds on the diamond and had faith good things would happen.
Thursday night the seeds of hard work and dedication blossomed into a “golden” opportunity for the two-time Class A all-state catcher.
Surrounded by his family, coaches, teammates and friends, Patterson signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball for the WVU Tech Golden Bears next year.
“It feels really good and it feels like a burden has been lifted off my chest,” Patterson said, smiling. “It was really stressful weeding out all of the options and finding the right place for me.”
With options on the table to play for the University of Charleston, Concord University or Bluefield State, Tech offered three key components that Patterson could not pass.
“Being local was a big thing and so was the the Dean of Business. When I talked to him once, he left a massive impact on me,” Patterson said. “(Assistant head) coach (Joe) Goddard and (head) coach (Lawrence) Nesselrodt are a really good duo and coach Goddard especially because I am a catcher. His knowledge will really help me excel.”
Joe Goddard was a standout catcher at Sophia High School before playing two seasons at Marshall University. Goddard was then selected by the San Diego Padres in the eighth round of the 1971 Major League Baseball draft and took advantage of the chance to play pro ball.
After a brief stint with the big club and six seasons in the minors, he finished his degree at Marshall. Goddard then spent 36-years the head coach at Independence High School in Coal City where he led the Patriots to the 1990 Class AA state baseball title. He was inducted the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.
The former standout catcher was tasked with the initial contact of Patterson.
“I am very blessed to have Joe Goddard as my bench coach,” Nesselrodt said. “I sent him over to watch Reece and he came back with two thumbs up. He said that is a guy that we can win with.”
Patterson was honored to receive the approval of the legendary coach, but he was also glad it all went down in stealth mode.
“I didn’t even see him up there (in the stands),” Patterson said, laughing. “If I had seen him up there I probably would have done so bad. I would have been shaking, but it was really cool afterwards knowing he was there.”
Goddard was known for his defensive prowess back in his playing days and Patterson talked about the opportunity to learn those skills from the legendary coach.
“I have been wired defensively my whole life as a catcher,” Patterson said. “I am going in humble, not cocky, and just listening to all he has to say. Learning from his knowledge will be really good for me.”
Greater Beckley head coach Drew Walker is of the opinion that Patterson has the ability to help the Golden Bears immediately.
“Everyone knows how talented he is as a baseball player, but he is just an awesome young man. He has a great attitude and an intense passion for baseball,” Walker said. “I played for 14 years, and as a catcher, he is better than anybody I played with. He will succeed really quick at the next level. His arm is second to none and his instincts with runners on base are really good as well.”
“Reece is very coachable and will do anything they ask him to do,” Walker continued. “I know coach Goddard well and I played travel ball with his son. He will take Reece under his wing and show him some things and really help him get better.”
During his high school career, the future Golden Bear had a pair of rare feats. Most noteworthy was earning Class A first team all-state honors the last two seasons.
The other came in a regular season win over Cross Lanes Christian where he had a game for the ages. Going to the dish three times against the Warriors, Patterson blasted three homes runs and drove in seven runs to lead the Crusaders to a 10-0 win.
“I came off the bus and I had Taco Bell before the game which was not the best decision,” Patterson recalled. “I wasn’t feeling that good, but I came out and warmed up, had a Gatorade and was determined to absolute pelt the ball.”
Patterson adds his name to a growing list of local players that have made the decision to play at WVU Tech, something that Nesselrodt has made an emphasis for his program.
“It is a big day and we are excited to have Reece join us. From a Tech perspective, our goals are set high and we are excited about the future,” Nesselrodt said. “I feel the key to success is surrounding yourself with good people. The biggest thing you learn in college is to make good decisions. We feel like Reece has made a really good decision and we are excited about the decision we made.”
