Is coaching really worth it?

    The answer for Caleb Small: yes.

    Small is one of the three multi-sport coaches in the school and he has been the assistant baseball coach for the last four years and has coached baseball at two other schools, Hamilton Heights and Ritter, in the last seven years.

    Small also completed his first season as the football team’s offensive coordinator under head coach Jason Simmons, but completed his fourth official season on the football staff. In the previous three seasons he formerly coached tight ends and quarterbacks under former head coach Lance Scheib.

    “I think Small is an up and coming coach. I think he will be a head coach here real soon,” Scheib said. “He has promise here as a head coach, either baseball or football.”

    Small has been involved in sports all his life. At the age of three, he began on the diamond playing tee ball. He took his place on the football field in third grade and continued playing until he graduated from Marian University. Small has earned 20 years of experience in baseball and 15 years of experience in football.

    “The reason I’m a coach is because of the impact my coaches had on me, and I wanted to return the favor to today’s youth,” Small said. “Sports in general has opened a lot of doors for me, as far as going to school, to college, getting my degree and to helping me pay that. Then sports have helped with the relationships I’ve built with the kids and the other coaches as well.”

    Small’s ultimate goal has been to impact and affect the lives of his students and student athletes. Small knows that some people aren’t necessarily going to relate to what he has to say, but he still wants to have a positive impact in some way. And he’s succeeded.

    “He’s impacted my life in a huge way by helping me becoming a leader,” senior Ben Collins said. “Throughout the football season he gave me chances to lead and gave me a good example to learn from.”

    In senior Tyler Gonzalez’s opinion, Small is one of the best on the school’s athletic staff.

    “He’s very approachable,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve known Small since freshman year and every time I see him it’s either a hug or a handshake with a ‘What’s up Gonzo?’ He really cares a lot about the student athletes.”

    But it’s not just football players who believe Small is one of the best, it’s baseball players who do as well because of the impact he’s had on them.

    “He is probably one of my favorite coaches because he is always teaching us skills through baseball that will help me later in life,” Junior Jacob Thieman said. “That’s something I will always remember.”

    Football players and baseball players appreciate Small’s energy and motivation that he brings to each and every practice and because he always leaves an impression on all the athletes he’s coached.

    “Coach Small has helped me change, when I was growing up I never pitched,” Thieman said. “When I came into the program here at Noblesville, I still hadn’t pitched. He has challenged me with the task of pitching and this offseason of working on pitching has changed me as a person.”

    Small hasn’t just received respect from his student athletes, but also from other coaches in the building.

    “He’s one of the best coaches we have in this building,” Scheib said.

    And sure, after playing and coaching all his life, Small has thought about quitting. He has had moments where he wondered if it all was worth it. If giving up time with his wife and family was worth it. Small says his busy schedule forces him to weigh out his options. His family and his free time on one side or his love of the sports and his ultimate goal of helping students on the other. Helping students are why he does what he does and why he’s a coach. It drives him even at the hardest times.