Jerry Cromer, who played or coached baseball for Glenvar High School for 23 seasons, has taken off the green and gold uniform for the last time. Cromer announced he was stepping down as head baseball coach at last week’s Highlander baseball banquet.
“It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had in my life,” said Cromer. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and a lot of praying and I decided it was time.”
Cromer has a son, Alston, who will be playing for Glenvar Middle School next year and that played a part in the decision. Alston has been a bat boy for the Highlanders and Jeremy has coached his travel team. He didn’t want to be at practice with the high school team while Alston was playing on a different diamond.
“I’ve only ever missed one of his games,” he said. “I was playing slow-pitch softball and he wanted to know where I was. My wife and son have had my back for eight years, and now it’s time for me to be in the stands and watch him play.”
Cromer has been the head coach at Glenvar for eight years, but he was an assistant prior to that and a standout lefthanded pitcher as a student at Glenvar. A 2000 graduate, he bleeds green and gold.
“I come from a military family and we moved around a lot when I was growing up,” said Cromer. “We moved here from Atlanta when I was in the eighth grade and this was the first place I could actually call home.”
Cromer is proud of the job he’s done during his time as head coach. This past season Glenvar finished 16-6-1 and was one win away from a berth in the state tournament, losing an extra inning game to Patrick County in the Region 2C semifinal.
“We’ve had a ringer of a schedule the past few years but we held our own,” he said. “When I took this job the program was a little down and I was determined to build it back up to where it used to be, and I think we’ve done that. The person coming in is going to have a strong core coming back.”
Jeremy isn’t leaving town, he’s just taking off the uniform.
“I’ll still be watching, just not in the dugout,” he said. “It might be from up at the softball field. This was a very tough decision, but I feel at peace. Certainly I’m going to miss it.”
