Twelve years. That’s how long Mike Feit has been a baseball coach at Parkway Central. But this year, Feit made the decision to step down from coaching. He will continue his teaching career here at Central as a special ed teacher.
“I have 4 boys at home that are starting to get older,” Feit said. “Life at home is changing and I want to be a part of it and not miss out.”
Although he will be enjoying spending time with his family, he will miss being a coach. “I’ll miss the relationships with the players and the other coaches,” Feit said. “The relationship between a coach and a player is a different relationship then the relationship between a teacher and a student.”
Feit has helped the program in many ways as he has coached all levels of baseball at Central. Recently he was a pitching coach for the varsity team.
“I believe the program has helped me more than I’ve helped the program,” Feit said. “If there’s one thing I can say I contributed was enthusiasm and a love for the game.”
One non-player that will miss having Feit as a coach is varsity Head Coach, Scott Davis.
“Coach Feit is irreplaceable. There is no one who could replace such a great human being such as Coach Feit, both on and off the field,” Davis said. “Coach Feit has helped me tremendously. He kept all of the pitchers organized, handled all of their bullpen work, and helped out with anything else you could have asked him to help out with.”
Although Feit believes the program had a bigger impact on him then he did on the program, Davis believes that he had a great impact on the program.
“The pitchers will certainly miss coach Feit and his wisdom, his routine, his knack for helping kids develop pitches that are best for that individual,” Davis said. “The team will miss his positive attitude that he brought everyday. I will miss being able to send the pitchers over to him and know they are getting great work in, the talks before and after practice, the positive outlook on everything, his help with keeping the field looking as good as we can get it, his boys coming up to Saturday practices with him, and his overall presence in the program. Coach Feit will truly be missed in all aspects of the baseball program at Parkway Central for years to come.”
He not only had an impact on the team, but the players themselves.
“Coach Feit coached all 3 levels of baseball at Parkway Central so he was able to reach many kids throughout his years at Central,” Davis said. “Any past player that comes back they always ask me how Coach Feit is doing, which tells you the impact he had on them.”
Sophomore pitcher Anthony Klein was one of the players that worked with him.
“He was always in a good mood, kind, and always there for me,” Klein said. “He just put me in a good mood to pitch.”
Although the baseball program will miss him, everybody wishes him well on his personal journey that he will have with his family.