Bowling Green School has named Justin Garcia as its new head baseball coach.
This is Garcia’s first head coaching job.
Garcia, 33, heads to the Buccaneers after serving as an assistant baseball coach at Fontainebleau since the 2015 season.
Garcia has a pitching background.
Garcia was a pitcher for the University of New Orleans from 2004-2008. He is tied for the most mound appearances at UNO, with 84.
The Privateers went to regionals during Garcia’s last two years there.
After his playing days at UNO, Garcia signed with the Kansas City Royals organization as a free agent and played for two years. He was at the rookie level and single A. During his time in the pros, he went 8-7 with a 3.32 ERA.
Garcia said he is appreciative for the opportunity that Fontainebleau coach Mike Woods gave him, and added he is looking forward to coaching at Bowling Green.
“I guess the timing wasn’t perfect, but it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” Garcia said. “I didn’t know a lot about (Bowling Green), but I came in and met with Mrs. Beverly and I told her the mindset of what I’d bring. I felt like she was excited and is going to give me the things I need to be successful. I feel like I have her support in getting this program to where we want it to be.”
Garcia said think the biggest part of baseball is trust and building relationships. He said he is going to put a routine together.
“My first goal here is to get to know the kids. Let them know they come first,” he said. “We’ll figure out a process and work hard. We won’t even talk about winning first, we’ll talk about how to get there. My mindset is to worry about today and then worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. We’ll have a plan today and that’ll help us win.”
Garcia is a 2008 graduate of UNO.