photo by: Matt Tait

Free State baseball coach Mike Hill, left, and his son, Matt, are now on the same coaching staff with the Firebirds, preparing to take FSHS into the 6A state tournament on Friday afternoon in Fort Scott in this 2022 photo.

In more than 30 years of coaching the game in Lawrence, Free State High baseball coach Mike Hill has seen just about everything.

That’s what made his new experience this season in leading the Firebirds back to the state tournament one of the more memorable moments of his coaching career. And all he had to do to see it was look at the man next to him on any given day.

Hill’s son, Matt Hill, is one of three varsity assistants on the Firebirds roster, and for the past few months he has worked closely with his father on everything from pitching calls and game plans to infield positioning and batting order.

Even though his friends used to tease him that it was inevitable that he would one day be coaching baseball at Free State, being in this position was never the goal for Matt, who graduated from Free State in 2017 and played college baseball at Baker University.

“Because they used to joke with me about it, it became something I didn’t want to do,” Matt said Wednesday afternoon after Free State’s early practice.

But after trying to student teach and finish his baseball career at BU earlier this spring, Matt realized that doing both wasn’t possible. He knew he wanted to stay around baseball, though, and he approach Mike about the idea of joining the staff.

“I needed something to do and it was comfortable and I thought it would be a good opportunity to help him out at a program that I obviously care a lot about,” Matt said. “At first, I think I did it just to fill a void. But I’ve really enjoyed it and it’s been a lot of fun.”

Like anybody else, Matt had to go through the regular process of getting hired. After being vetted by the FSHS athletic department and school officials, Matt became a viable candidate. Mike said his son’s knowledge of the game and the program made him the best candidate for the job and he officially hired him before the start of the season.

The older Hill noted, however, that he probably would not have done so if not for Matt’s experience with the Falmouth baseball program in the Cape Cod League last summer.

“Had he not taken the steps that he took last summer, I don’t know that he would’ve been the right fit,” Mike said. “I did note that that changed him.”

Rather than just being an energetic lover of the game with good baseball knowledge, Matt suddenly presented himself as someone who could lead.

Mike said riding on buses with future millionaires and stepping up as the man in charge in those settings in Cape Cod helped Matt grow and mature. And both father and son have seen the benefits of that experience carry over to the Free State diamond this spring.

Because the two have been around baseball fields together for more nearly two decades, Matt said the transition has been pretty easy and devoid of any uncomfortable moments. When he has to get Mike’s attention, he still calls him dad, and Mike often responds by calling his son, “coach.”

Mike called their dynamic “very businesslike.” And Matt credits his father for allowing him to create a healthy distance between being the son of the head coach and an assistant who has been given the chance to earn respect from the players the same way fellow-FSHS assistants Nolan Deitrich and Alex Reyes have had their chance to do so.

“He’s young and he’s still trying to figure out who he is as a coach,” Mike said. “But I like the fact that he has a good relationship with the kids. He’s at that age where he can still relate, where some of us dinosaurs may find that a little more challenging. He’s also got good insight to the game.

“As a head coach, what you value from your assistants is input. And he hasn’t been bashful about sharing his.”

For Matt, speaking up in any situation is part of the growth he’s seeking through this experience. When he was as little as four or five years old, he was a bat boy for his dad’s teams and a ball boy for the Free State basketball teams. He never imagined then that he one day would be in the position he currently occupies. But he’s also not complaining about it either.

“Over time, it just became something I wanted to do and the opportunity presented itself here,” he said. “As a young coach or a young teacher, I think being able to get my feet wet and gain experience at a place I’m already familiar with will set me up for success whether I stay here for 30 years or I stay here for five years.”

Could the former happen? Never say never, said Matt.

“If I enjoy half as much as I do now, I think it could,” he said.

Matt has officially been hired to teach history at Free State next school year and he figures to be busy coaching baseball throughout the summer, as well.

The sixth-seeded Firebirds (15-8) will take on No. 3 seed Olathe West (18-4) at 1:15 p.m. Friday in the opening round of the Class 6A state tournament at LaRoche Baseball Complex in Fort Scott.

photo by: Contributed photo

Free State coach Mike Hill, left, and his then-5-year-old son Matt, pose together at the 2004 state tournament when the younger Hill was a bat boy for the Firebirds.