Since the spring of 1986, only one thing has stayed the same for the Crawfordsville High School baseball program.
What is that one mainstay? That would be assistant coach Rhett Welliver.
Welliever joined the Athenians’ staff when he joined his brother-in-law John Froedge on the staff. From day one, he has been the Athenians’ pitching coach and that has been one of the main reasons for the Athenians’ success over the years.
Froedge ended his career after the 2020 season with more than 800 wins and then Crawfordsville legend Brett Motz took over and made sure that Welliever stayed on as his pitching coach. That combo has won nearly 100 games since Froedge’s retirement.
In case you need help with your math, that means Welliever has been directing the Athenian pitchers and bullpen for 40 years. That is believed to be the longest active streak for any assistant coach at any county school for any sport. Forty-two years of being in the background, doing what he does best — creating outstanding pitchers.
In a story in the Journal Review several years ago, Froedge was asked what happened to the program around 2000, when the program broke onto the scene as one of the premiere programs in the state and eventually led to a pair of state championships in 2008 and 2011.
Froedge said it was simple — Welliever told him the pitchers needed to learn to throw harder. That is what the team, under the leadership of Welliever, has done since that time. The list of Indiana All-State and All-State players is like a who’s who. Some of the standouts include Andrew Swart (2007), Cameron Hobson (2008), Steven Rice (2010), Trent Johnson (2017), Cale Coursey (2023), Kale Wemer (2024) and probably some others that I have missed.
Many would not want to stay in the background for all these years, but for those of us who know Welliever personally, that is right up his alley.
Even in his playing days at Southmont, he was the quiet one — who carried a deadly bat (at the time he set a school record by hitting .490 his junior year) and was dominant on the mound. He helped to lead the George Davis-coached team to the school’s first baseball sectional title in 1979 before heading to Anderson College.
Many times over the year I have had the chance to talk with him about his role. The answer is the same — he says he loves what he is doing, teaching the mechanics and mentality of pitching and has never wanted to step up and be a head coach. He loves being the man “behind the scenes.”
And how much does he love what he is doing? He still throws an occasional batting practice and says if his head coach would want him to throw more he would.
“I just do what the head coach tells me to do,” he said. And although he said that in a text, I can see his famous little smile that he is known for.
Crawfordsville, and Montgomery County, is lucky to have someone who loves the game and loves teaching today’s athletes all the ins and outs of pitching. He has even talked with me, a softball pitching coach, about aspects of pitching. He is just a wealth of information and is always more than willing to pass it along.
How long will he go? No one knows but for now go out and see a Crawfordsville game and look at the shy, silent one at the end of the bench closely watching his pitchers. You won’t find anyone better.
Barry Lewis has been involved in Montgomery County sports for nearly 50 years. He has a passion for keeping its rich history and tradition alive.
