Schmidt Celebrates 40 Years at LGISD; 35 With Leps Baseball

As the La Grange baseball team gets ready for the playoffs next week, few teams can rival the experience the Leps have in their dugout.

La Grange assistant baseball/ pitching coach Wayne Schmidt is celebrating his 40th year as a coach at La Grange ISD, and his 35th with the Leps baseball program.

“It just means I’ve been here for a while,” laughed Schmidt.

But for generations of Leps baseball players and fans, La Grange baseball wouldn’t be the same without Schmidt. He’s sent numerous pitchers to college and the minors, including former MLB star Homer Bailey.

Schmidt won three state titles as a Leps assistant coach and he won two state titles as a player at Brenham High school. For a while he was the head Leps baseball coach in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but most of his tenure has been as an assistant.

“It’s kinda crazy because in the coaching profession, especially nowadays, you don’t expect to stay in one place that long and to be here 40 years and 35 years in the baseball program,” said La Grange head baseball coach Robert Barber. “The knowledge he brings to those pitchers. He teaches them how to pitch. The way he works games is kind of magical.

“The thing I love the most about Coach Schmidt is listening to his stories, going back to his playing days at Brenham and SFA and when he first got into coaching. As many games and wins as he’s been a part of – he has so many stories.”

Schmidt, who is the pitching coach for the Leps, said even after all these years some things don’t change in high school ball. “It’s still about throwing strikes,” Schmidt said. “You can’t walk a bunch of guys. That gets the defense on their heels.”

Father Time hasn’t caught up with Schmidt, who is now 66. “I still throw batting practice every couple of days,” he said. “I still squat down and catch pitchers. Keeps you young I guess. Hopefully my experience helps them out in the long run.”

Staying involved runs in the family. His wife Sherry was a longtime, beloved teacher with LGISD who retired in 2022 after 33 years as a second grade teacher, but she hasn’t gone far.

“She doesn’t call it ‘retired.’ She said she graduated,” Schmidt said. “But she’s still up there subbing three or four days week.”

Wayne, too, has scaled back. He used to be a full-time elementary PE teacher for the district, but now just coaches baseball. How long will he keep coaching?

“We’ll see,” he said. “I take it year by year.”