Kochis named Woodland Beavers baseball coach

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The first high school basketball game of the season hasn’t tipped off yet, but Mitch Kochis is already looking forward to baseball season.

That’s because the Woodland High School counselor was selected just days ago as the Beavers’ new varsity baseball coach. With seven starters coming back from last year’s team that finished second in the state in Class 1A, it’s no wonder Kochis is eager to begin.

“I’m excited about the players and where the program is right now,” he said, referring to Woodland’s district championships in 2013 and 2014. “The program has has a great amount of success so it’s a great time to be a coach at Woodland. There’s a lot of momentum with the new school and everything.”

Kochis was hired in June for the counseling position. Woodland Athletic Director Paul Huddleston said Kochis’ expertise in sports psychology will be valuable for Woodland athletes in several sports.

“He got the counseling opening, and once we got to talking I learned not only about his background in baseball but also his psychology background,” Huddleston said. “We are really excited for what he has to offer. It’s obvious he has a passion for the game and the desire to continually find ways to improve the program.”

Kochis replaces Stephen Short, who left Woodland this fall to take a teaching position elsewhere. His Woodland baseball team lost 7-1 to Naches Valley last spring in the state Class 1A baseball championship game.



“We were really happy with him,” Huddleston said of Short. “He did a great job here.”

The new diamond boss has been a player and coach at the college level. He played one year at Cumberland University of Lebanon, TN, and three years at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, ID, primarily as a third baseman and second baseman.

He also played four years at shortstop for Camas High School, where he earned first team all-league honors in 2002 and 2003.

“We started the trend of success at Camas,” Kochis said. “We were the team to turn that thing around.”

Look for an exciting brand of baseball from the 2015 Woodland Beavers. Kochis plans an offense that will do more than sit back and wait for the long ball.

“My background is aggressive baseball,” he said. “We are going to steal bases and put a lot of pressure on the defense. At this level, that’s where you can find a lot of success, pushing the game along rather than waiting for something to happen.”