Pomerantz begins as new baseball coach at Collinsville
By Mark Jurgena
Collinsville High School has announced that Matt Pomerantz will be the new head coach of the Collinsville baseball program.
He succeeds Brett Swip in the position.
“I’m really, really excited,” said Pomerantz. “Being a former alum and being around the game of baseball and just overall being around the kids I’ve had the last couple of years, it’s a great opportunity to change a little bit about the culture of Kahok baseball and get us to be a very competitive program built on team collaboration and to continue to work toward the goal of making us a very, very competitive and respectable baseball program in the Southwestern Conference.”
Pomeranz played semi-pro ball in the Eastern Missouri Baseball League, then other amateur leagues for the next dozen years after graduating from Collinsville in 2003.
He has coached all through the ranks in youth baseball before becoming the head coach at Edwardsville (Metro-East Lutheran) for four seasons.
Recently, he was the JV head coach at Collinsville and has served as pitching coach and, most recently, the hitting coach for the purple and white.
This past season, the Kahoks went 14-20 overall and 4-8 in the SWC. Two seasons ago they were only one game under .500 overall and 7-5 in the conference.
With his previous experiences, Pomerantz believes CHS will play the game a bit differently than they have in the past.
“We’re going to play a little bit different baseball than maybe we have previously,” he began. “The small ball, bunting, hitting and running, hitting the ball on the right side. A little of that team collaborative baseball on the offensive side of things.”
With Pomerantz being a former Kahok himself, in addition to a current assistant coach, makes him a recognizable figure in and around Collinsville.
“I’m so excited for Matt and his family,” said Collinsville athletic director Clay Smith. “Matt has a relentless work effort and love for Kahok baseball. Matt’s understanding of the game, with his passion to make our student athletes better on and off the field, makes him an ideal candidate for this position. Coach Pom is ready to hit the ground running and take our baseball program to new heights.”
While he has hit the ground running with his experience around the program, Pomerantz wanted to say a word of thanks to many of those who helped him get to his current position.
“There are so many individuals in my life who have helped me with my coaching, it’s tough because there’s not just one,” he began. “It goes all the way from my time at Collinsville with coach (Steve) McFall, who instilled a hard work ethic, even going to quite a bit of the people I played baseball with. Some of them have been collegiate coaches, some have been high school coaches. I have an amazing network of coaches that I can reach out to.”
