Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Wynecoop ready to take enjoyment of baseball to Davenport High School head coaching position
New Davenport head high school baseball coach Ethan Wynecoop is seen here pitching for the Inland Northwest Iron Pigs.
DAVENPORT – Ethan Wynecoop and his family have only been in Davenport since 2019, but the recently hired high school head baseball coach is excited to bring his love for America's Pastime to the city and local high schoolers.
"I have a love for baseball. I've played for 35 years since I was 13," Wynecoop, whose hiring was approved by the school board March 29, said. "It's a great opportunity to give something back to the community."
Wynecoop will work with assistant coach Adam Collins, whose hire was also approved March 29.
Before his family moved to the Davenport area, Wynecoop began his coaching career with a four-year stint as an assistant at Cheney High School from 2014-2018. He also managed a men's league team for a summer in Spokane in 1995.
Wynecoop, who was born on the Spokane Indian Reservation before moving to the Mead area, still has family on the reservation and in the Spokane area. He went through the Mead School District before pitching at then-Whitworth College and Cornell College in Iowa. He also played semipro ball in Canada in the summers during his college days.
He's played on various men's teams throughout his adult life. Wynecoop even spent two years on the Eastern Washington club baseball team when his wife, Lindsey, a substitute teacher in the school district, was getting her bachelor's degree.
The Wynecoops, who have two children in the school district (Josie, 13, and Callen, 9), moved to Olympia after their time in Cheney, before quickly turning around and heading to Davenport in 2019 to be closer to family.
Ethan Wynecoop hopes to see his children finish high school without another move.
"It's a great community," he said. "I want to see my kids spend their high school years here."
Wynecoop applied for the baseball coaching position when it opened up with hopes of passing his love for the sport on to the local high schoolers.
During his day job, Wynecoop is a sergeant with state patrol in the Ritzville detachment. However, he doesn't want his players to view him as a member of law enforcement, but as a coach.
"Coaching is really rewarding," he said. "It's hard to describe if you haven't done it."
After a difficult 2-10 season in 2019, the Davenport baseball team had its season canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020. Wynecoop said he expects this year, and possibly next, to be another rebuilding campaign with a young squad.
"Hopefully we can help facilitate enjoyment for baseball," Wynecoop said. "It's sad to see young players not play baseball."
Wynecoop likened today's state of the pandemic to similar times in America's history, like the Great Depression and World War II, where baseball can be a chance to be an escape from the real world's hardships.
"With COVID, we're back in one of those challenges," he said. "If we had baseball to look forward to, I think that would help in some small way."
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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