How first-year coach Devin Symlar led Columbia Central baseball to TSSAA region tournament
FAYETTEVILLE – Devin Symlar had big shoes to fill when he became the Columbia Central baseball coach.
Symlar had spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach under Mark Pickle, coach of the Lions for 26 years and Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer, before taking the head coaching role prior to this season.
Those two seasons coaching alongside Pickle helped prepare Symlar for his first season, where the Lions have gone 22-13 to date, securing a spot in the Region 5-4A tournament after falling 1-0 to Lincoln County in the District 9-4A championship game. It marks the second straight season Columbia has reached the region.
“The two years learning from Pickle, this was his favorite time of the year, was tournament time … He always had his teams ready to play, when it mattered the most in the tournament," Symlar said. "So seeing how he was and his mannerisms and how he was around the guys when it was tournament time, you could tell there's a difference. And so I'm just trying to pretty much do the same thing he did.”
Symlar played under Pickle at Columbia before playing at Columbia State and then Reinhardt University in college. After his playing days, he returned to his alma mater as an assistant.
His time spent with the program made what normally may be a tumultuous transition, a smooth one.
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“You know, it hasn't been like a real transition. Coach Pickle gave (Symlar) a lot of leeway these past three years when he got back from Reinhardt University where he played," said Columbia senior Konner Bowden, an MTSU signee. "Coach Pickle kind of stepped away a little bit and he kind of let (Symlar) do a lot of like strength and conditioning, hitting, talking to us about like mental things and stuff. So it doesn't really feel like his first year in a way, I feel like this is our third year."
Symlar, who played college baseball as recently as 2020-21, believes his age has been another factor that’s helped in his new role. Still 26-years-old and not far removed from his own days at Columbia Central, Symlar is able to relate to the players in a way few other coaches can.
“He can understand us more than Pickle did, because Pickle, he coached for a long time. And (Symlar) knows new school baseball and he taught us a lot of things from college that we use now," Columbia ace Lane Sharp said. "That really taught us a lot.”
While the smooth transition from Pickle to Symlar has led to success on the field, the Lions still haven’t achieved all they hope to this season.
After a 10-0 win in an elimination game against Spring Hill in the district tournament, the Lions secured a spot in the Region 5-4A tournament where they’ll be looking to improve upon last season’s regional semifinal appearance.
Whether the Lions surpass last season run or not, this season has been the start of a dream role for Symlar, who has put his own youthful spin on the culture developed by his predecessor and mentor.
“Yeah, this doesn't feel like a job for me. It feels like, you know, it's a little bit more than that. It's bigger than that," Symlar said. "I've lived in Colombia my whole life, went to school here and stuff. So it means a little bit more than just, you know, fulfilling a job and playing a game.”
Harrison Campbell covers high school sports and more for The Daily Herald. Email him at hcampbell@gannett.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @hccamp.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: TSSAA baseball playoffs: Columbia in region with first-year coach
