He's worn a number of baseball caps over the last eight to 10 years, most notably Fort Frye, American Legion and Ohio State.
But now, Tyler Engle is back home in the Mid-Ohio Valley, serving as an assistant baseball coach for Bob Crawford at Ohio Valley University in Vienna.
Crawford first met Engle ''when he was just a kid at the Marietta College baseball camps I worked for quite a few years.''
And Crawford must have been impressed with the young Engle, because whenever their paths crossed in the intervening years, ''I always told him if he 'ever needed anything, let me know.'"
This past summer when Crawford found out from Engle's dad that a job interview didn't lead to a coaching position for Engle at a small college in Michigan, he was interested in meeting with Engle and it turned into a job at OVU.
Engle - who finished his college career at OSU last spring as the Buckeyes' starting shortstop for four years, was second all-time in games started and played in over 200 games - works with the Fighting Scots' infielders, especially the middle ones at second base and shortstop, and is OVU's third-base coach.
''He's learning the ins and outs of coaching, but the only way you can really learn is by getting out there and doing it,'' said Crawford, who added he sees the potential in Engle to be a head coach some day.
''It's not going to be tomorrow, but yes, I certainly think he's got the knack for it and the capacity to do it,'' said Crawford.
Engle feels like he had ''a good career at Ohio State. I had a good run at it and enjoyed my time up there.''
He especially liked ''playing for two different coaching staffs because I feel that's helped me as a coach, seeing two different ways of doing things.''
His degree from OSU is in sports management, and now he's taking education courses at OVU toward a master's degree.
Engle said he ''was glad it worked out for me to come here. I have two younger brothers, Trey (a freshman first baseman/catcher at OVU) and (11-year-old) Tate, who I haven't seen too much of in the last four or five years with being gone so much.''
And Engle added, ''It's good to be home, although I do miss Columbus a lot.''
Plus, Engle admitted that although he knew Crawford, he ''didn't really know much about'' the baseball program at OVU. ''So I was really surprised with the talent that we had here. We've got some kids who can really play.''
Engle's ambitions in coaching are strictly on the college level, hopefully a head coach in time. ''I'd like to work my way up to the D-I level (OVU is Division II),'' he said.
''I know being an assistant college coach can be a tough job and a real grind, but I hope it'll pay off some day.''
For Engle, ''the reason I really wanted to come here is because I knew coach Crawford would let me do my thing and see what I really had as a coach. But I get frustrated sometimes, so he's got to bring me back down to earth and tell me I've got to be patient.''
Contact Steve Hemmelgarn at shemmelgarn@newsandsentinel.com
