Carver names Andy Hicks as baseball coach

Andy Hicks is hoping that the Carver baseball program can continue to build upon the foundation put in place by David Pollard.

Hicks was named the new baseball coach earlier this week by principal Chris Lindsey. He replaces Pollard, who was killed in an automobile wreck in April.

“I was pretty excited,” Hicks said. “We had a good thing going, and I was concerned if someone new came in that we would lose some of that momentum.”

While many on the outside saw Carver as a perennial doormat, a football school that just happened to play baseball, Pollard saw a bright future. He was working hard to complete that vision when a man in a stolen car hit him as he was returning to the school from buying chalk for Carver’s baseball field.

Hicks, who was an assistant to Pollard, was named the interim coach for the remainder of the season. The other baseball coaches in the city came together to help Carver finish the season.

The Tigers earned their first Region 1-5A victory with a win over Shaw before a large crowd. Hicks was quick to credit the other assistant coaches, Patrick Creech, James Bennett, David Flores and Cody Hugley.

“We all grew up playing in Columbus, so we have that same coaching mentality,” Hick said. “Coach Pollard built the foundation. He was the first real baseball coach at Carver. It was important to get that first region win. We had been so close, but we didn’t know how to finish.”

Hicks played at Northern Little League and at Hardaway High, when the Hawks were back-to-back state runners-up in 1996 and ’97. He played for a year at CSU, then a year at CVCC before going on to West Georgia. His playing career ended when he needed Tommy John surgery.

Hicks worked in heating and air conditioning for seven years before deciding to become a teacher. He was an assistant coach at Hardaway before leaving for Carver.

This story was originally published June 11, 2016 at 7:24 PM with the headline "Carver names Andy Hicks as baseball coach."