By STEVE KRAH
Pat Doherty has fond memories of his time in a Concord High School baseball uniform.
From his four years as a player at the Elkhart County, Ind., school to his stint as a Minutemen assistant, Doherty wore the green with pride.
Now he gets to do it again as head coach.
The Concord Community School Board of Trustees officially approved his hiring at their meeting on Sept. 17.
“I’m excited. It’s awesome to be back at Concord High School,” says Doherty, a 2005 CHS graduate. “I’m blown away by the support. There seems to be a buzz around the program.
“It’s my job to keep it going. I want the players to buy in and compete everyday and let the chips fall where they may.”
Doherty looks to bring consistency to the program. He is Concord’s fourth head coach in five years.
“We want to be competitive — in the classroom and on the field — and bring a sense of pride back to the baseball program,” says Doherty, 31. “That’s a the high school and youth level.”
Doherty plans to form relationships at Concord Little League and will keep tabs on area travel baseball organizations that may feed the Minutemen.
The past two summers, he has coached the Concord Pride 12U and 13U travel squads.
He was a JV coach then assistant at CHS in 2016 and 2017.
Doherty coached baseball on head coach Steve Stutsman‘s staff at Elkhart (Ind.) Central High School 2008-11 after playing two seasons (2006 and 2007) for head coach Keith Schreiber at Glen Oaks Community College in Centreville, Mich.
Doherty played four baseball seasons at Concord and earned three letters for head coaches Cary Anderson and Mike Jackowiak. He also earned three letters in swimming and participated in cross country and football one year each and played baseball for Jim Treadway-managed Bristol American Legion Post 143 following his junior and senior years of high school and freshman year of college.
“I’m a big proponent of the three-sport athlete,” says Doherty, who will be meeting with returning seniors this week after having open fields two times a week this fall. “To be out on a baseball field at this time of year is always good at this time of year.”
While it is early in his tenure, Doherty has talked to some potential assistant coaches and has been talking with a few area head coaches about bringing back some instructional summer games, like the ones he played when he was in high school.
Another fond high school memory is of the Concord Marching Minutemen Band. He helped earn a state championship in 2003 and was drum major as a junior and senior.
Concord is a member of the Northern Lakes Conference (along with Elkhart Memorial, Goshen, Northridge, NorthWood, Plymouth, Warsaw and Wawasee).
The Minutemen are in an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping with Elkhart Central, Elkhart Memorial, Goshen, Northridge, Penn and Warsaw.
Pat and Kelly Doherty (a 2006 Concord graduate) have been married for nine years. They live in Elkhart with daughters Addison (7) and Ryleigh (9 months).
In addition to coaching, Pat Doherty is plant manager for Lippert Components in Mishawaka, Ind., and broadcasts high school football and basketball and hosts a talk show on Froggy 102.7 FM. Kelly Doherty is about to embark on a teaching job with Headstart in Elkhart.
Pat Doherty, a 2005 Concord High School graduate, has been named head baseball coach at his alma mater. His hiring was approved Sept. 17, 2018. (Concord High School Photo)
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