Oceans Springs' Kanode is coach of the year

"The first thing I had to do was change the attitude. We were just kinda going out there and going through the motions, so we had to set defined goals and I started talking about winning a state championship. People thought I was crazy."

Turns out, Kanode was right. His Greyhounds finished 28-9 and ended the season No. 1 in The C-L's final rankings.

At least one coach wasn't surprised by his former player's success.

"I always felt like he would be a good coach," said Denson, who now coaches at Belhaven College in Jackson. "Those bullpen catchers tend to make good coaches. He would always help with the young kids when we had camps and just loved the game and loved to be around it. I'm tickled to death that he is doing so well."

Kanode, who won back-to-back state titles as a player at Mercy Cross, patterns much of his coaching style after Denson, who earned Coach of the Year honors in 1981 while coaching at Callaway.


Read More