BY ZACH EDGAR
Hailing from Yuma, Arizona, Chance Sharp has lived a life of baseball as both a player and coach. His playing days saw him competing at NCAA division II schools while completing his bachelor of arts in secondary education at both Salem University and New Mexico Highlands University, being awarded All-Conference at Salem University in 2013.
“I pitched at two division II schools and then got into coaching in 2015, kind of right away,” Sharp said.
Sharp has been all over the country since, coaching at all levels of the game.
Highland Community College is the most recent team Sharp called home before making his move over to St. Louis Community College this summer. With four years there, he saw 43 players move on to the university level of the game, saw an improvement in player academic standing and made the playoffs each and every year he was there.
“Successful. Enjoyable. Such an awesome experience for me. I probably needed it more than I realized because I quickly understood that it’s a lot more than just being a baseball coach,” Sharp said.
Passion is at the forefront of everything Sharp wants to bring to this team. Sharp is living his dream. He has made his passion his job, and he is dedicated to showing that in his training and time with the players at STLCC.
“I love what I do. It’s a dream. I tell the guys that all the time, this is it. The only other thing I’d rather be doing is playing,” said Sharp.
Transferring this passion to the game and the players he is coaching is paramount; he wants to engage with student athletes as best he can. Times are a little different from when he came up through college, but that doesn’t stop him from helping growth happen anywhere it can.
Sharp hopes to bring back a bit of the “Meramec Magic” this season, looking back at the history and incredible players this program has helped develop. Players like David Freese, 2011 World Series Champion with the St. Louis Cardinals and T.J. Mathews, RH Pitcher who was drafted out of the 1990 MLB June Amateur Draft out of STLCC Meramec, later also going on to play for the St. Louis Cardinals.
“There have been some amazing baseball players to walk on this campus and play on that field. So to me, that is something that I really want to establish. To have that culture, have that connection with alumni that have value with what we are doing here,” said Sharp.
With all of this in mind, Chance Sharp is ready to hit the ground running to make this team his own.
“Any new coach that comes in is gonna have a different lens of perspective, thoughts and ideas. For me, it’s about making sure that the players are getting a good experience,” Sharp said.
