Sidney High graduate Thomas Goffena said it was always a goal to get back to the high school ranks after college and do some teaching and coaching.

He’s already accomplished that, coaching some football and, this year, coaching the boys golf team, in addition to teaching. But recently, he got the coaching job he’s always wanted — head baseball coach at his alma mater.

Goffena will be the new coach pending board approval, and when that happens, he will replace another SHS grad, Bill Shoffner, who resigned after three seasons to become more of a family man.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve loved the game of baseball,” said Goffena, who played at Kent State, from where he graduated. “Once I got into college and teaching, it was definitely a goal for me to one day be back in high school. And if I could pick anywhere, it would be back in Sidney.”

Goffena, who teaches physical education at Sidney Middle School, follows in the footsteps of older brother Derek, who coaches high school baseball in North Carolina.

“Right now, I’m just coaching golf, and we have a lot of baseball players who are playing football,” Goffena said. “But about the end of the fall, we’ll start to do some workouts. We have batting cages down at Lowell school, and we definitely want to have some kind of workout program, make sure to keep the arms nice and strong.”

His first priority will be to instruct, he says.

“I feel No. 1, you have to teach the game of baseball,” he said. “A lot of times we take for granted that kids know the situations, and you can’t do that. We want to teach the fundamentals and that’s what we’re going to try to instill at the varsity level. And I will want to get with the youth programs and do the same thing.”

He’s looking forward to coaching, and also working with the baseball boosters.

“They are really doing a god job,” Goffena said. “It’s a good group in there. It should be good for the kids for quite a while.”