Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Ben Teel with the Homewood High School baseball team practices throwing on Jan. 25.
After seven years away from the Birmingham area, Lee Hall has returned to become the head baseball coach at Homewood High School.
Hall is no stranger to the area, having attended Berry High School and coached at UAB, Shelby County High and Briarwood Christian School through 2009. He spent a year away from coaching before making stops in Mississippi, Dothan and Huntsville.
Now, he’s back home.
“I love it,” Hall said of Homewood. “Our family has been well accepted. My two children have been well accepted. It’s everything I always thought Homewood was from the outside looking in. It’s been great.”
The position at Homewood opened after Doug Gann ascended to the athletics director role at the high school, and Hall inherits a program that is in position to succeed. The Patriots have an impressive streak of advancing to the second round of the playoffs each of the last five seasons.
Hall said, “[Gann] felt like every step along the way at Homewood High since the ‘80s, every time a coach handed it over to a new coach, the program has gotten a little bit better. He said, ‘I want you to take it to a level I couldn’t get it to.’”
On the field, Homewood is looking to replace roughly 80 percent of its offensive production from last spring. But Hall has liked what he’s seen from his largely inexperienced team.
“I think we’re going to be athletic and put some guys on the field that can run,” Hall said. “That’s the type of game that I like to play. We like to bunt and run the bases and we’re going to have some guys that fit that mold.”
That starts at the top of the lineup with Lee Hall’s son, Josh, an Ole Miss signee. Josh Hall began the season 23 stolen bases shy of the state record for a high school career and is a two-time Collegiate Baseball All-American.
“He’s got great leadership skills, is a great worker and the most important thing, he’s been accepted by these guys,” Lee Hall said. “They have absolutely put their arms around him and welcomed him to Homewood and they’re excited to have him here.”
Ben Teel hit for a .328 average last season and returns in the middle of the Patriots lineup. Jake Miller is another returner that should play a significant role.
Hall also said he is glad to have Homewood pitching coach Keith Brown in his own dugout now. He credited Brown with having the toughest pitching staff to steal bases against over the past few years.
“He does such a great job of holding runners and mixing pitches,” Hall said. “He’s going to make us better as baserunners. He’s going to challenge us on the things we like to do.”
Along the same lines as the offense, the pitching staff returns just 7 percent of its output last spring. Hunter Keim accounted for most of that, as he posted a 2-0 record with an excellent 2.05 ERA in 13 2/3 innings. Now, he’ll be relied on at the top of the rotation. Justin Perreault is also expected to contribute in a big way on the mound.
“I’ve been really impressed with him,” Hall said of Keim. “He changed his body in the offseason and is geared up to have a big season.”
Hall said his first team at Homewood will be marked by its 12-man senior class, one that’s eager to continue the program’s rise.
“These guys are real hungry to be that senior class that got Homewood to the next step.”