For Chad Cooperman, the 2022 baseball season was to be a special one. His dad Scott, who had been a longtime high school coach and athletic director, was named the new coach for Northwestern Lehigh and asked his son to be one of his assistants.

It seemed like a great setup for the younger Cooperman to spend some time with his dad after being away at Bloomsburg University where he finished his academic and baseball days just last year. Then, the elder Cooperman received a job offer in South Carolina and Northwestern athletic director Jason Zimmerman asked Chad to step in.

“I was looking forward to coaching with my dad and gaining that experience, but I feel I am ready for this opportunity,” said Cooperman. “I have had to brush up on the high school rules a little and Jason (Zimmerman) has helped me with the administrative stuff, but when you come down to it, it’s still just baseball.”

Cooperman will have two friends and recent teammates next to him in the dugout as assistants.

Justin Kratz and Justin Welch both played with Cooperman in the Blue Mountain League last season and helped their team to a league championship.

Kratz played at Allen High School and then for Lehigh Carbon Community College and Welch, who lived in the Northwestern Lehigh school district, was a member of the 2018 Central Catholic team that lost to Northwestern Lehigh in the district finals. Welch went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and two RBI in the championship game.

While some may see an inexperienced coaching staff that is at a disadvantage, Cooperman sees a staff that is a perfect fit.

“Relatability is so important to the kids and that’s the advantage that we have of being a young staff in that we understand what they go through,” said Chad Cooperman, a 2016 Salisbury High School graduate. “We’ve been there recently, and it really allows us to connect with them at a level that I think others would struggle with. It’s a great opportunity.”

Northwestern Lehigh has had a lot of success with its program in recent seasons and even with five starting players from last season graduating, the goal of league and district championships continues.

Last season the Tigers took home a Colonial League championship and went to the District 11 finals, finishing with a 19-5 overall record and a 15-2 Colonial League mark.

Ben Boyer and Dylan Witkowski are leading another talented group of seniors and setting the tone for the younger players on the team.

“The younger guys are committed, and I think they’re talented, so we just have to help them maturity-wise and to know what it takes to win,” said Wikert of the underclassmen on the roster. “Most of them play on tournament teams and they like to compete, so they’ll do fine.”

If you run the numbers from last year’s championship team, it is easy to see the challenge that the Tigers face this season. Boyer and Witkowski were key for the team last season, but aside from their offensive numbers, the returning players had just 92 plate appearances and hit a combined .219 for the Tigers in 2021

For now, Cooperman is keeping an open mind about who is going to be in the lineup and where in the order they will hit. The plan is to mix and match players at different spots lineup through the first couple weeks of the season to find the right spot for players to succeed.

“I tell them that every practice is like an interview,” said Cooperman. “We are always looking to put the best nine out there that are going to help us compete and win games, so every day they need to come to practice and act like they want to roll and win games. Everything is written in pencil, and we have created a lot of competition at practice.”

Lost from last season’s pitching staff are a combined 88 innings from four pitchers who pitched to a combined 3.27 ERA. Boyer and Witkowski will anchor the pitching with fellow seniors Tanner Romig, Nick Scott, and Morgan LaBuda also likely to get some time on the mound. Junior Wesley George, sophomores Shaun O’Donnell, Josh Lichman and Chase Moyer are also penciled in as potential mound options.

The young crew of players and coaches open their season Friday at rival Northern Lehigh.