Paul Wirtz, the head baseball coach who just finished his seventh season at Bishop Noll Institute, has formally announced that he is stepping down from his position as the varsity head coach.  On September 19, the Bishop Noll athletic department announced that Mr. Ramker, computer apps and freshman seminar teacher, will replace Wirtz this season as head coach.

  “I love baseball and coaching has always been something that I have been getting more into,” said Ramker, who had previously been coaching as an assistant under Wirtz’s tutelage.

“The timing here at Noll had fit perfectly.”

  But for players, parents and students wondering if Wirtz will return to the program in any other capacity, there could be hope in the future, but not quite yet.

   “I know at least in the next year I won’t be coaching at all,” said Wirtz.

  Wirtz’s announcement was a real shocker and completely unexpected to the team. His final decision didn’t come out of nowhere, but nothing majorly influenced Wirtz decision. Wirtz made his decision to stop coaching at the very end of July.  Varsity second baseman Tony Cobb, junior, stated “it was kind of random and unexpected.”

  Wirtz had been debating for a couple of years now whether or not he was going to coach at Noll any longer. He spent a lot of time over this past summer thinking about the decision at hand and knew by the end of July that it was crunch time for his decision.

  “I think Mr. Ramker will do a great job,” Wirtz said. “He played here as a starter and captain.  He  graduated from Bishop Noll in 2009.  Even as a player I knew he had the potential to be a really good coach one day.”

  Returning players are also satisfied with the new replacement.

  “Mr. Ramker was the person I wanted to be our head coach since Wirtz’s decision,” said Cobb. “I know he will continue the success that our program has had in the past.”