Young Sikeston BB coach delivers message of appreciation, learning, and being opportunistic

Wyatt Pratt didn’t choose coaching baseball as a career because he thought it would be easy. Nothing surrounding the game of baseball is ever that. And his first spring guiding the Bulldogs in 2023 was definitely not a walk in the park.

However, despite his youth, Pratt has apparently garnered a lot of wisdom surrounding the game, as well as life, and the second-year Sikeston High School baseball coach recently delivered a message to a group of baseball followers gathered at a fundraising dinner for the Charleston Fighting Squirrels emphasizing the importance of learning from those that came before him, as well as having a deep appreciation for the opportunities that have been bestowed upon him.

“The Fighting Squirrel family has meant so much to me,” Pratt said, “and that is exactly what it is, a family.”

The Fighting Squirrel followers and supporters gathered recently for the team’s annual First Pitch Dinner, which raises funds for the following season, of which 2024 will be the 20th anniversary of current Charleston High School (and Fighting Squirrel manager) Michael Minner starting the program.

“The opportunities and everything that has generated from (me playing),” Pratt continued, “I am truly grateful for Coach Minner.”

Pratt has come full circle in a very brief amount of time.

He graduated from Sikeston High School just seven years ago, and now is a physical science teacher with the school system, as well as the baseball coach. He is now in the shoes of his mentors, such as Minner, and is now having to advise young athletes on how to pursue their dreams on the diamond.

“One of the most common questions that I get from parents is ‘What should we do in the summer,’” Pratt explained. “I always tell them the same thing, which is go to where you are going to play, and then play the greatest competition that you can.”

For Pratt, he said the Fighting Squirrels provided an opportunity for him, which ultimately led him to play at Rend Lake Junior College, as well as NCAA Division II program Delta State in Mississippi.

“None of that happens without Coach Minner,” Pratt said of his career.

“The Squirrels are the place to be,” Pratt continued. “This is THE program, and I am a believer in that. This program checks all of the boxes.

“When you match apples to apples, oranges to ranges, there is no program, at any level, that stacks up to this one.”

Pratt took over a program at his alma mater that had won just five games in 2022 and had struggled after enjoying winning seasons from 2010 through 2019.

“What Coach Minner gives you is a master class in how to be successful in everything,” Pratt said.

Pratt’s first team at Sikeston improved to six victories, which may not sound like a great amount, but the Bulldogs made strides both offensively and defensively and endured five losses by a single run.

Though frustrating at times, the past spring didn’t damper his enthusiasm for the game, which he attributes to Minner.

“The key thing is to be passionate about baseball,” Pratt said. “It’s all about baseball. And that is with everything you do in life. When you are passionate, you reap that passion, you reap that love, and you include others.

“You also give back and you learn all along the way.”