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Springwood School has named Gene Bowles as its new head baseball coach. The skipper has been coaching baseball at all levels for over a decade. He hopes to not only bring success on the field to Springwood but also make the team something that the community and the school can get behind. 

Coaching has been Gene’s career for as long as he has had one. 

“I have basically been coaching since I got out of college. So I started [with] travel ball in Maryland, probably around 2009/2010, I got into coaching college baseball in 2016,” he said.

Gene had a couple of stints at Prince George’s Community College near Washington DC; first as an assistant coach over a team that went to the Junior College World Series, then as a head coach leading the team to a regional championship game. He spent time at a couple of high schools and junior colleges, as well as a year as an assistant coach at Dartmouth College.

Athletics is not simply a family affair, it is what led Bowles to his family. He met his wife, Sarah Warren Bowles, during an away game in North Carolina, his wife was coaching softball for Point University and was also playing in town. 

The two coaches are now married and have a soon-to-be two-year-old son, Warren “BamBam” Bowles. Sarah has been the assistant coach for Point University’s softball program for 15 years, which is how the Maryland-born Gene landed in Lanett. 

His most recent coaching stint was with Point as an assistant coach, although he worked at the Cape Cod League during the summer, getting to see lots of Division 1 talents. When not coaching he is organizing baseball camps or tournaments through his company Gene Bowles Baseball LLC.

That is how the head coaching position at Springwood came up. He had reached out to Joey Burch, the Athletic Director, to set up a camp at Springwood. Burch asked if he would be interested in interviewing for the recently vacated position and Gene jumped at the opportunity.

Gene is not only in it to win games, although that is an expectation he has for himself. His main goal is to get his players where they want to be, whether that is playing D1 baseball or not.

“There are a lot of athletes in the greater Valley area, as well as LaGrange, Opelika and Auburn…and they’re not playing. They have the opportunity to come here at Springwood, and we’re not just going to play the regular schedule, we’re also going to try to go outside the state and do a spring break tournament,” Gene said. “If we have guys…who can play at the college level, they’ll have plenty of opportunities here”

What is perhaps most intriguing about Gene’s philosophy is the idea that community breeds success. The coach wants to bring in alumni from past teams to be involved in game day or talk with the teams.

The Marylander has taken over the study hall duties at the school, in order to allow the students to see him in the school and become a steady presence for athletes and non-athletes alike. For those less inclined toward athletics he hopes to get them involved in other ways, like announcing play-by-play for aspiring journalists or cutting game film for students wanting to go into the film industry. 

“[We want] to try to utilize everybody at the school, so even if you don’t play a sport, you know, there is a spot for you,” Gene said. 

He wants to create a sought-after baseball program for young athletes.

“I want them to have pride in being a wildcat, I really want the local kids who have the opportunity and really want to play at the next level,” Gene said. “I don’t know why guys would sit the bench, even on the JV or varsity level at other schools, where you can come here and get a great education and get yourself ready for college and then have the ability to play right away.”

“We don’t even [talk] about championships, because they’re expected,” Gene said. “We’re gonna put the work in. And, you know, that’s a byproduct.” 

He hopes to get the players to invest in the importance of training and practicing, rather than just games. 

“We don’t get to a point where we have fun in the training aspect. I’ve been in some places where practice is kind of an afterthought, we want to show up and get to games” he said. “I want them to take pride and want to come out.”

Throughout the conversation, Gene bragged on some of his former players, not specifically the ones that went D1, but those that succeeded in other pursuits. He proudly recounted taking his team to watch their catcher in a Shakespeare production, who is now trying to make it on Broadway. Another was a journalism student who “cut his teeth” interviewing teammates. 

“There are programs everywhere, there’s the ability to be great and be successful everywhere you’re at, you just have to make the most of it,” Gene said. “That starts with supporting, if you’re not playing a fall sport, coming out, and supporting your fellow student-athletes. So, it’s just a sense of community. And I think, I think that’s where the win comes in.” 

Gene appears to be a coach through and through. He has a hunger to win, which he will no doubt instill in his players. But, more importantly, he has an obvious passion for creating community and making his students into well-rounded humans as well as players. This has made him successful in previous posts.

“We all strive to win state titles. We all strive to have all-state players, but at the end of the day, when [former players] come back and can talk to your current team. I mean, it’s a blessing,” Gene said.