Chillicothe tabs Tom Barr as new baseball coach

Derrick Webb, Staff Writer

CHILLICOTHE — Last month, Adena parted ways with Tom Barr. Monday night, the veteran head coach found a new home.

Chillicothe High School’s Board of Education approved the hire of Barr on Monday night. Barr takes over the Cavaliers’ head coaching post for Nathan Winston, who spent one season with the Cavaliers.

“I’m excited to be part of the Chillicothe Cavaliers’ baseball program. My kids go to school there and to have an opportunity to be at the school during Lilly’s senior year and for TJ, who’s in seventh grade, was important to me,” Barr said Monday. “To help build this program to where we want it to be competitively is a challenge that we are looking forward to taking on. I’ve had several discussions with the CHS administration. We had our first coaches meeting yesterday and a quick meeting with the players earlier this afternoon … everyone has the common goal of building the foundation for Cavs baseball moving forward.”

While in Frankfort, Barr led the Warriors to an overall record of 70-43 and three district tournament appearances.

“It was very difficult to leave Adena as my time there was a great experience, where the community allowed me to be part of the Adena baseball tradition,” Barr said. “We were able to have success and make a lot of great friends while having a positive impact on a lot of kids that will be leaders in our community for years to come. In the end, it came down to making the best decision for my whole family because, as a coach, it takes a lot of time away from family life.”

However, Barr’s family has bought into his move to a darker tone of blue.

“Mrs. Barr is the best wife on the planet and I’m very thankful that she supports my decision to coach baseball at Chillicothe,” Barr said. “At Chillicothe, we will be evaluating every aspect of the baseball program from middle school up with the goal of bringing in program coaches that will be responsible for working with all of our players.”

The Cavaliers were 10-12 overall last season. They’ll bring back several key pieces this spring as Barr looks to improve upon that mark. He’ll have help from a stable of familiar coaches around him … some of whom helped him at Adena, as well as Chillicothe Post 757, where he coaches during the summer.

“We intend to teach our players from the beginning how things need to be done,” he said. “I’m very fortunate to have our staff of eight coaches on board to help us do this the right way, right out of the gate.”