Telegraph Staff Writer
First-year Bradford High School Head Baseball Coach Chip Chadwell resigned on April 8, citing the need to spend some time focusing on his family — including his mother — during a time of need.
Chadwell, whose wife and father both died because of COVID-19 within 10 days of each other last year, said he gave the matter a lot of thought throughout the week before finally tendering his resignation
“I feel at this time, I cannot give the boys my best day in and day out as I require of them,” Chadwell said in his resignation statement. He also wrote, “I truly have enjoyed working with the players since we started in the fall, but at this time, my family has to be top priority.”
Athletic Director Sampson Jackson said an area of focus among BHS athletics is to create stability in the baseball program. Chadwell was the third coach the Tornadoes have had since administrators decided to move in a different direction following Stewart Duncan’s ninth year as head coach in 2018.
“We knew we had someone good there,” Jackson said. “Coach Chadwell’s work ethic is unmatched. He was at the field many mornings real early.
“There were a lot of moving parts in his decision, I’ve come to find out. Nevertheless, we respect the decision. Whatever we can do to support him, he knows that we’re going to support him.”
Chadwell is still working at BHS in his role as Spanish teacher, which Jackson said is a plus for the school.
“We want him here,” Jackson said. “We need a good Spanish teacher.”
The assistant coaching staff, which includes James “Bat” McNeal, who’s filled in before as head coach, will handle the coaching duties the rest of the season. Jackson said the focus is on finishing out the season and then naming a head coach in a timely manner that takes advantage of the things Chadwell established when he was hired.
“We want to do some things that Coach Chadwell had set in place — fall ball and some other things,” Jackson said. “We don’t want to lose those.”
