Winterer named head baseball coach at Salem High

by Brian Hoffman

Salem High finally has a new baseball coach. The Salem School Board concluded a search that has been going on since the summer when they named jayvee coach Jimmy Winterer to the head coaching position after their meeting last week.
“I’m very happy to be leading the future of Salem Baseball,” said Winterer, a Roanoke College graduate and physics teacher at Salem High. “I’m truly blessed to have been a part of this great school and community for the last seven years and to now get an opportunity to continue the program’s success.”
Winterer has been involved in baseball all his life. He was a three sport athlete at Warren County High School in Front Royal, VA, but baseball was his passion.
“Baseball has been a very important part of my life, even from a young age,” he said. “I hope to infect my players and the youth in the Salem community with my passion for baseball.”

After high school Winterer was a member of the first recruiting class when Roanoke College re-established its baseball program in 2002. Winterer pitched for the Maroons from 2003-2007 and, despite an injury filled career, he logged 89 strikeouts in 132 innings. Jimmy had 38 appearances, 23 starts, three complete games and two shutouts.
Winterer began his teaching and coaching career at William Byrd in 2008. His career continued as a varsity assistant under Ed Culicerto at Northside from 2009-2012, helping the Vikings earn their first AA state title in 2011.
Next Winterer spent three years at Cave Spring High School from 2013-2015, and then was hired to be a physics teacher at Salem High in 2016. He’s been the jayvee coach and an assistant to coach Wes McMillian for the last seven seasons. He’s now looking to assemble a staff as the Spartans’ head coach, and he’s hoping to dip into the talent the program has produced during his time with the team and before.
“I plan to extend invites to old Spartans to help me start a new chapter at Salem High School,” he said. “I hope the lessons they(current players) learn from me and the game keep them in the sport for their lifetime, and that I inspire them to return to their communities to help coach the generations below them.”