Gentry Coward is pictured on the job as the city of Greenville’s street superintendent. Coward is also the head coach of the Pitt County Girls Softball League team set to play in the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park.
Pitt County Little League softball head coach Gentry Coward, left, readies to receive a throw from Sarah Booth during a practice at Sara Law Softball Complex Tuesday.
Pitt County Little League softball head coach Gentry Coward hits a fly ball to one of his players in right field during a practice at the Sara Law Softball Complex Tuesday.
Gentry Coward is pictured on the job as the city of Greenville’s street superintendent. Coward is also the head coach of the Pitt County Girls Softball League team set to play in the Little League Softball World Series at Elm Street Park.
Aaron Hines/City of Greenville
Pitt County Little League softball head coach Gentry Coward hits a fly ball to one of his players in right field during a practice at the Sara Law Softball Complex Tuesday.
Pitt County Girls Softball League head coach Gentry Coward has had to juggle a handful of responsibilities over the past several weeks as he prepares his team for the Little League World Series.
It is nothing new for Coward, as the Greenville City employee has been balancing work, coaching and parenting for seven years now.
For many, the situation would be overwhelming, but not for Coward, as he said the support from all three sides has made the balancing act less demanding.
“The city has been very understanding. They told me, ‘Look, go do what you need to do,’” Gentry said. “They’ve supported me 100 percent and they’re excited too, not only to have a team here, but a city employee representing the city in the World Series.”
The excitement extends across Pitt County and throughout the region, as the PCGSL Little League team is set to make history as the first team from the county to ever compete in the LLSWS.
Coward has worked for the city since 2005 when he was hired on in the stormwater section of the engineering department.
He was then promoted to assistant street superintendent in 2016 before moving to street superintendent in 2021.
Coward noted he is responsible for all of the road maintenance across the city.
On the coaching side of things, Coward said he has been coaching a main core of this year’s team for seven years now.
“The good thing is, a large percentage of those girls, I’ve coached since they were six years old, so we’ve got a bond there,” Coward said.
While Coward will be in the dugout as his team makes history, it is not his first experience with the LLSWS, as last year he was one of many workers behind the scenes making the tournament a success.
“What we did is we manned barricades, we ran the hospitality tent, we shuttled spectators from the bottom of College Hill by the parking lot to the ball field, and if anyone had any questions about where to go or what to do, we pointed them in the right direction,” Coward said.
During this year’s tournament, things will look much different for Coward, as he will shift from behind the scenes to center stage.
Pitt County Little League softball head coach Gentry Coward, left, readies to receive a throw from Sarah Booth during a practice at Sara Law Softball Complex Tuesday.
Craig Moyer/The Daily Reflector
“I was told this year that my job is to go win the World Series, so that’s the plan,” Coward said.
He added that within two or three weeks from this year’s LLSWS coming to an end on Aug. 15, planning will begin for next year’s tournament.
Coward stressed that the event takes several months of planning to make sure everything goes off without a hitch.
When the LLSWS gets under way Tuesday, viewers from across the region, country and world will tune in to see the hard work Coward and his teams, both softball and the city employees, have put in.
“It makes me feel like the work that we put in is being recognized. It’s not only locally, everyone that turns on the TV to ESPN, they’re going to see Greenville, North Carolina, for what it is,” Coward said. “They will see the work, not only me, but all city employees put in on a daily basis to make Greenville what it is.”
Coward and the PCGSL Little League All-Stars will get under way at the LLSWS in the third game of the opening day, as they will face the West Region representative, La Verne, Calif., at 4 p.m.
