By Audrey Dodgen/Staff Writer

With the departure of El Reno’s head baseball coach Mark Ward, the district has offered the position to assistant coach Jason Looper.

Looper assumed head coaching duties for the summer season last year while Ward was coaching the Elk City Travelers.

“We interviewed Jason and recommended him to the board, and they hired him,” athletic director Rocky Carter said.

“We think he’ll do a really good job.”

“I’m pretty excited about it. I want to try to just pick up where Coach Ward left off with a lot of things,” he said.
Looper has just completed his first year of full-time coaching, having finished his student teaching under Ward.

The 24-year-old said while the situation was somewhat overwhelming, he felt confident in his ability to lead the team.

Looper played baseball for two years at Seward Community College in Liberal, Kan., before completing his degree at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where he played third base for the Bulldogs.

“We’re going to make some changes, but they’ll be for the better. I want to be able to stay here and build on what coach Ward started and hopefully build a tradition of going to the state tournament every year,” he said.

Looper plans to emphasize offense during the next year in a bid to make his team more successful.

“We are going to get some stations going where we hit with a partner and do some soft toss. We are going to get a lot of reps in swinging the bat,” he said.

“I’d also like to get a strength and conditioning program started in the offseason, with the new weight room they’re putting in the gym. I’d like to get more into the conditioning part of the game.”