KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — After 35 years at the helm of Halls high school baseball, Doug Polston has decided the time to retire has come.

Polston set the stage for his head coaching career in 1989, “I remember thinking what have I gotten myself into and knowing right up front, I didn’t know near as much as I thought I knew,” said Polston.

One day turned into three and a half decades. While that was much longer than Polston ever though he’d be coaching, there was something that kept him in, pitch after pitch.

“I guess my competitive spirit, I tell my kids all the time, I’m a competitor if I play you in checkers or chess I’m gonna try to beat you, I’m gonna do whatever I can to beat you,” Polston said.

As the seasons came and went, Polston doesn’t truly know if he ever really cracked the coaching code, but lessons were certaintly learned along the way.

“It’s a process, it’s not a quick fix, nothing is gonna be a quick fix, it’s never as good as you think it is and it’s never as bad as you think it is,” said Polston.

Growth came with accomplishments, including three state tournament appearances and a state runner-up nod in 2004. The accolades on paper though don’t even scratch the surface of the lasting impact Polston leaves his coaching career with, “Lot of good memories and a lot of love for the kids,” Polston said.

Polston plans to still cheer on Halls baseball, from behind the dugout.