The Southern Ohio Copperheads have appointed a new head coach for the 2023 season.

Jonathon Shiver, a 27-year-old native of Jacksonville, Florida will be at the helm of snake baseball for next summer. Shiver is currently the Hitting Coach / Transfer Recruiter for Olivet Nazarene University, a private institution in Illinois that competes in NAIA. 

Shiver himself was a collegiate baseball player, having played at Lander University for one year, and Trinity Baptist for four years. 

This upcoming summer will be Shiver’s first opportunity to coach a summer league collegiate organization, and he could not be more excited to take on the role. Shiver states, “I think summer ball is a great time for players to relax, have fun and really work on their game. It is the perfect environment to just enjoy baseball and be a college athlete. I want to help kids who need to develop but also make it to where the kids show up every day knowing they’re going to enjoy the day.”

The Copperheads will be entering their 2nd season back competing in the GLSCL, after a 2-year COVID-19 hiatus that began in spring of 2020. The Copperheads finished the 2022 season with a record of 15 wins and 23 losses, finishing in last place of the Southern Division and leaving much to be desired. Bringing in a fresh face at the head coach position with new tactics may be what the Copperheads need to add more wins. When asked about his coaching philosophy, Shiver stated, “My philosophy is first and foremost about the development of the player and the person for each guy on the team. I want each player to be better than he was before he put on a Copperhead uniform. I also want guys to really know the grind of what development looks like so they can go back to their schools and be successful and achieve their goals where it really matters. If those things happen, then it will be a fun summer and great environment daily around the Copperheads team.”

Although the Copperheads may have room for improvement on the field, off the field the team remained a staple of the Athens community throughout the 2022 summer. The organization tallied a record number of community events, hosting over 1,000 local children at the OhioHealth baseball clinic, Athens and Nelsonville Swimming with the Snakes events, and Kids on Campus day combined. The team wants to remain a mainstay for community engagement in Athens, and Shiver is excited to keep this tradition alive. Shiver added that “Community engagement is something I have experience with, we do a lot of volunteer work at Olivet Nazarene and our guys enjoy that. I look forward to having interactions with a college town like Athens and I’ve heard great things from former coach TJ Lanning about the culture of the Copperheads and the community involvement.”

Copperheads Executive Director Annie Valeant, and General Manager Charlie Clegg are also looking forward to the addition of Shiver to the organization.

Valeant commented, “The Copperheads are delighted to welcome Jonathan Shiver as our new head coach. He came highly recommended from Coach Lanning. Coach Shiver has already bought into what the Copperheads are trying to do here in southeastern OH by serving as the community’s team. We look forward to helping him build his roster in the off-season.”

Clegg added, “Coach Shiver is precisely what we are looking in a Copperheads head coach. Not only can he develop a player’s skills so they can return to their college programs better than they were before, but his strong emphasis on community involvement and giving back to those who support the Copperheads is what our organization is all about.”

The Copperheads will begin their 2023 campaign in early June, at Bob Wren Stadium in Athens, OH. Stay tuned for all Copperhead updates by visiting www.copperheadbaseball.com or following the team on Facebook (@ Southern Ohio Copperheads), Instagram (@cheadsbaseball), and Twitter (@Copperheads).

By Charlie Clegg
                     

The Southern Ohio Copperheads is a community-owned, student-operated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Established in 2002, the Copperheads is a summer collegiate wooden bat baseball team that competes in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League and plays its home games at Bob Wren Stadium in Athens, OH.  The Copperheads organization strives to provide the most affordable means of family-friendly outdoor entertainment in southeast OH.  Tickets to Copperheads games are $5 and children under the age of five receive free admission. Staffed by Ohio University students, the Southern Ohio Copperheads also serve as a “learning lab” for student interns looking to work in the sport and entertainment industry.