From day one that Wyoming East High School opened its doors, the school has only known one head baseball coach – Ron “Chief” Mayhew.
That changed Tuesday morning at the Wyoming County Board of Education monthly meeting when longtime assistant coach Kevin Hedinger was named the new head coach on the heels of Mayhew’s retirement.
“Naming just our second coach in school history is a big deal. Kevin and Chief have worked together for a lot of years, even at Pineville before Wyoming East,” athletic Director Mike Kodak said. “They have always worked well together over the years. It seems like they always knew what the other one was thinking.”
Hedinger did not find out about the news until later in the day Thursday and while he naturally was pleased to get the job, he knows he has some big shoes to fill.
“I played golf all day and we thought the Board meeting was (Thursday) tonight. I never take my phone with me out on the course, so I didn’t really find out about it until 4:30 or 5 p.m.,” Hedinger said. “I was excited to get the job of course, but it will be hard to replace coach Mayhew.”
Mayhew has long been the heartbeat of baseball in Wyoming County and the person that Hedinger has looked up to since an early age.
“He is a true educator. It is hard to tell how many kids he has coached over the years. He loves coaching, he loves the kids and he is a diligent worker,” Hedinger said. “I met him when I was 12 after my dad was killed in the Buffalo Creek flood. I was young and for a long time he was somebody that filled that spot for me. He has just always been there.”
Wyoming East is coming off its only losing season in school history (11-12), but finished strong winning eight of its final 12 games. Hedinger is hoping to send the Warriors back in the right direction.
“We made it to three state championship game and got beat twice, but we won that 1-0 game against (Herbert) Hoover in 2012. Really the year before, 2011, was what we thought was our best team ever, but we lost to Chapmanville,” Hedinger said.
Hedinger played Senior League for Mayhew, as well as high school ball at Pineville. He briefly coached against his mentor for a short period at Baileysville.
“I don’t think I know anybody that wanted to win more than coach Mayhew did. I beat him one time when I was the head coach at Baileysville. I tried to act like it was no big deal,” Hedinger said, laughing. “I went to shake his hand and I was pumped. He told me not to act like it was any other win, but I tried to play it off as a win is a win. Really I wanted to jump out of my skin.”
The one win came after a tough lesson in a previous meeting between the two friends.
“My first year at Baileysville, Chief was state runner-up at Pineville,” Hedinger said. “I had a really good team and that is when Ricky Hatfield was a senior. We were winning 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh at Pineville and I had a really good pitcher. Hatfield comes up with a runner on first and I said I wasn’t walking him.”
“He hit a two-run homer over Pinnacle Creek over to the railroad track,” Hedinger went on to say. “Some of the dads told me that was gutsy. I told them it was stupid. The game I beat him, the same situation came up and they had Dusty Sparks up who was a really good hitter. I walked him and got the next kid out.”
While Mayhew has clearly influenced Hedinger on the diamond, what Mayhew did for Hedinger off the field has been equally, if not more, influential in Hedinger’s life.
“Kevin is very passionate, especially about being involved with the youth. He has coached baseball, coached me in football and was the freshman basketball coach during our successful years,” Kodak said. “He has a soft spot for kids that really need a mentor. Kids that don’t have a good home life or good guidance from parents.”
“At the same time, he is not soft with them. He is tough on them, but he definitely has a heart for it. He is retired now, but he works part-time as what is called an interventionist. He comes to the school and works with kids that are at risk of not graduating. It is a perfect job for him.”
Although the time has come for Mayhew to step away, his influence on the team will clearly live on through his right-hand man for years to come in New Richmond.
