Josh Rider has stepped down after five seasons as the baseball coach at Boyd-Buchanan, with the reins handed over to former Bucs football and baseball player Taylor Gilley.Josh Rider, who put together five of the most successful seasons in Boyd-Buchanan baseball history, has decided to step down as coach.
“It’s a family thing,” he said. “My daughter has started playing soccer and softball and things like that, and I wanted to make sure I was available to see her play. In the spring with baseball there’s no time to do that.”
In Rider’s five seasons the Buccaneers won four district championships and two region championships and made it to the state tournament twice, finishing third this past season.
“I think I’ll look back knowing that we continued to keep the program going in the right direction,” he said. “I think the thing I will miss the most is the player-coach relationships.”
He was torn but has been mulling over such a move.
“It was tough. I had thought about it for a long time. I wanted to do both, but I knew in the spring with baseball you have to be all in, and it leaves little time for family,” Rider said.
Ken Anderson, his pitching coach the past few years, also is stepping out.
Rider’s successor is Taylor Gilley, a former Bucs football and baseball player who is teaching elementary school physical education at BBS.
“I’m stoked for the job, although I didn’t think it would be a possibility with Josh doing such a great job with the program,” Gilley said.
Gilley graduated from Boyd-Buchanan in 2009 after outstanding careers as a running back in football and a middle infielder/pitcher in baseball, playing for Jimmy Parker and Steve Robbins.
He played baseball at Martin Methodist for a year before returning to Chattanooga. He served as an assistant coach to Rider while earning a degree at UTC.
“Taylor is someone I mentioned that would be good (as a successor),” Rider said. “His knowledge of baseball is very good, and I know he’s excited about taking over that role.”
Gilley was hired as a teacher at Boyd-Buchanan late last spring and helped coach middle school football this fall.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.