When the baseball job at Tharptown High School came open this past year, Thomas Horton jumped at the chance to take the helm of the program.

“I knew there was potential with this group to build a solid program,” said Horton, a first–year baseball coach. “We have some senior leaders returning, plus some young guys who love the game and are willing to work hard.”

That leadership from seniors like Blake Daily, Lucas Wright and Nic Chaney, and the willingness to listen and work hard, has Horton excited about this season.

“I believe one of this team’s strengths is their coachability,” said Horton. “Overall they are a young group. We have three seniors, a junior and a few upperclassmen new to the program, and the rest are eighth to 10th graders. They communicate well with each other and play hard.”

Defense is the main thing Horton said his team needs to work on.

“We have got to clean up defensive errors,” Horton explained. “Technique and repetition during practice and workouts will be the key to gaining confidence on the defensive side of the ball.

“For us to be successful,” he added, “we are going to have to be mature and diligent during practice and confident when we take the field against older and more experienced teams.”

Horton said team chemistry goes a long way to making a successful team, and he thinks this team has that.

“They all know each other well,” said Horton. “They hang out with each other during school, after school and on the weekends. They’ve grown up together, and that goes a long way when it comes to competing as a team.”

Tharptown plays in Class 2A, Area 14, with Decatur Heritage, Hatton, Tanner and Whitesburg Christian.