Kyle Marsh signs on as new Flagler Palm Coast head baseball coach
Kyle Marsh and Flagler Palm Coast High School wasted no time.
Less than three weeks after former head baseball coach Anthony Campanella announced he was stepping down in early May, the school hired Marsh for the vacated job last week. Marsh spent last season, his first as a high school baseball coach, as an assistant under Campanella.
“It definitely feels great,” Marsh said. “Being there this past year and being able to be an assistant there under coach Campanella was a good experience for me and got me acclimated to the program. High school baseball in general has been nice.”
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Despite being only 26 years old, Marsh brings an accomplished baseball history with him.
He grew up in Port Orange and graduated from Spruce Creek High School in 2014. There, he won a state championship, claimed the All-Central Florida Pitcher of the Year award as a sophomore and senior and was named a Perfect Game All-American.
He played two years of college ball and missed another due to injury at the University of Central Florida before transferring to Embry-Riddle for his final two seasons.
While a senior in college, Marsh co-founded the Florida Xtreme, a youth baseball organization that gave him his coaching start. He led the program through this spring. He also coaches for the Orlando Scorpions in the summer.
Marsh joined Flagler Palm Coast’s staff before last season. He worked mainly with the pitchers, but because he pitched and was a position player all the way through college, he holds expertise in both areas.
“I thought it would be a great learning experience for me and a great year to get into high school baseball and learn from (Campanella), one of the best that’s been around high school baseball for 30-plus years and had great success in the game,” Marsh said.
So, what did he take from his former boss?
“Just the ins and outs of how to run certain things when it comes to umpires, practices, getting ready for games and travel,” Marsh said. “But I think the main things I learned from him are just having patience and knowing when the time is right to do certain things.
“The knowledge he has for the game and the care he has for his players went a long way, and I was able to see that the one year I was underneath him.”
Days after Campanella stepped down, Marsh saw the job posting online and immediately applied. He talked with Athletic Director Steve DeAugustino about the gig and the hiring process. The next week, Marsh followed up with DeAugustino, who told him the job was his.
“It was a quick process,” said Marsh, who also works at the school as a virtual learning assistant.
His next steps include piecing together his coaching staff. Marsh said Casey Bell, who was an assistant with Marsh this spring, will return.
The Bulldogs finished their 2022 season with a 10-16 record and lost in the district semifinals. The last year they had a winning record was the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
But because Marsh spent a year with the current group of players, he knows their strengths, weaknesses and everything in between. He built bonds with many of them.
“I’d like to continue to see them grow,” Marsh said, “in the game of baseball and life in general.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Kyle Marsh signs on as new Flagler Palm Coast head baseball coach
