CSN's baseball pitching coach Glen Evans looks on as freshman Brandon Evans throws a pitch during practice.
When Glen Evans stepped back on the College of Southern Nevada baseball field this August, it felt like he had never left.
The much-revered pitching coach left his post at the junior college in 2004, never expecting to return to the program he helped coach to a national championship 2003.
Not long after Evans left his coaching positions at Calvary Chapel this summer, the CSN pitching coach position opened up.
Coming back was the easiest decision he ever made.
"I don't know if I could even explain how much I missed coaching here," Evans said. "The first day I came back, I felt like I was home."
Evans' decision to return was made easier by the fact his best friend Tim Chambers was still heading the program.
The two have coached together in Southern Nevada since 1992, when they were at Bishop Gorman together, and continued from 1999 to 2004, when they moved to CSN together.
Evans never wanted to leave CSN, but was forced to quit when budget cuts eliminated his position. He returns as a part-time coach and supplements his pay with pitching lessons and camps.
"We didn't intend on bringing in a new pitching coach, but then I talked to Glen and he said he could make it work," Chambers said. "He's my best friends and I've sat next to him in the dugout for 16 years. It was a no-brainer to bring him back."
Evans and Chambers, who were rivals growing up while competing at opposing high school in Utah, developed into friends after meeting and rooming together at Dixie State. They were close enough that when one decided to transfer to Georgia College & State University, the other followed.
As coaches they are perfect foils. Evans is more quiet and laid back while Chambers is more intense.
"Believe me, we fight like brothers, but we make a good pair," Evans said. "We're complete opposites. My mother always said we were bad for each other. She doesn't feel that way anymore."
Chambers cites his friend's attention to detail and experience working with professional coaches for his success.
"We have probably had more pitchers drafted out of here than position players," Chambers said. "He doesn't try to clone guys. He's very knowledgeable about his craft and he has a way with kids where they know he knows what he's doing."
CSN right-handed pitcher Chase Bradford said Evans has fit back into the junior college pitching mold perfectly.
"He knows exactly how to pick out your flaws and help you improve," said Bradford, a Silverado alum. "I have never had a coach notice the kinds of things he notices."
After Evans left CSN he singed on as a athletic administrator at Calvary Chapel, where he coached baseball and football from 2006 to 2008.
The baseball team dominated 1A classification to win state titles the last two years, but several players transferred to 4A schools this summer and Evans decided to move on.
"For as easy as it was for me to come back, that was the part that was very difficult," Evans said. "There are some wonderful people at Calvary Chapel that I really enjoyed being around."
As CSN enters its fall season, Evans is focused on junior college ball. His title may read part-time, but the commitment is full time.
"I feel good about this team," Evans said. "When we won the national championship I had a special feeling going into the season. I feel that same way this year."
Sean Ammerman can be reached at 990-2661 or [email protected].
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