AJ Kehoe ‘super excited’ to be new Central baseball coach

After spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach, Central baseball’s AJ Kehoe is stepping up to lead the Red Devils program.

Central principal Thomas Vickers announced Kehoe’s promotion Friday. Kehoe replaces Bobby Howard, who resigned on May 24.

“It means a lot,” Kehoe said. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity and super excited. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Vickers said in a statement that after interviewing candidates throughout the Southeast, those involved realized the best candidate was already on staff. Kehoe said his promotion was not something he and Howard discussed when he stepped down on May 24.

Kehoe, who served as the Red Devils pitching coach, commended Howard for the work he put forth in his two seasons as Central head coach.

“I’d just like to say our program is in great shape,” Kehoe said. “Being fortunate enough to work under coach Howard the last couple years, he’s obviously someone who’s irreplaceable. There’s only one coach Howard. I was very fortunate to have a chance to work side by side with him. You can go ahead and take over a program in which he’s basically laid the foundation the last couple of years and done a fantastic job with it.”

Kehoe takes over at Central after two years as an assistant, but he enters with plenty of head coaching experience. He has been a head coach for 18 seasons, making stops at Beauregard, St. Anne Pacelli and Glenwood. Prior to his time at Central, he spent nine seasons at Beauregard, where he won four region titles and made an appearance in the Class 4A state championship series in 2012.

He has been recognized for his coaching with several accolades, including being named the 2006 Region Coach of the Year by the Georgia Athletic Association, the 2009 5A Coach of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association and the 2012 Coach of the Year by Auburn-Opelika News.

“The thing that’s so intriguing is being fortunate enough to have this opportunity at Central-Phenix City,” Kehoe said. “You have tremendous support from the administration, from the city itself and the superintendent’s office. As a coach, all you really ask for is for opportunities and means to enable our players to get better. We have fantastic facilities and amazing coaches. The resources that are provided, as a coach, go a long way.”

Kehoe said his familiarity with the Red Devils players should prove helpful in the transition. The players know Kehoe and have seen firsthand his efforts to help the team as an assistant. Instead of having a new face step into the program, the players will be led by someone who’s already had a vested interest in their development.

The Red Devils posted a 21-17 record in the 2016 season which saw the team face some of the strongest teams in the Southeast. With Kehoe now at the helm of the program, he said the team’s fans and players can expect the same commitment to excellence that was present in Howard’s tenure.

“We’re going to be known as a team that’s known to grind,” Kehoe said. “We’re going to have some grit about us. We’re going to compete and play hard. Philosophically, we just want our guys to go ahead and not be afraid to fail, win on and off the field and just stay process oriented.

“(When you’re) concentrating on the little things and being disciplined, winning games and things of that nature take care of themselves.”

This story was originally published June 2, 2017 at 2:26 PM with the headline "AJ Kehoe ‘super excited’ to be new Central baseball coach."