A former Colonel found his place on the sidelines as student assistant coach for the Nicholls baseball team.Josh Swenson, former Nicholls baseball player set to graduate in May, has spent his time after baseball assisting with coaching for the Colonels.

While Swenson has had to adjust to not playing and strictly staying on the sidelines, he has also had to adjust to the life of a coach.

“There is a lot more work in being a coach,” Swenson said. “I put forth more work to get things started with practice and games.”

Being a student assistant coach is the first collegiate coaching experience Swenson has had since exhausting his eligibility in the 2009 season.

“I might coach later on in my life. Probably not right after this year,” Swenson said. “It’s been a great experience. It’s going great so far and has been fun. I’ve learned a lot.”

In Swenson’s senior year, he was able to finish third on the team with a .299 batting average through 51 games and a .325 average in conference play.

Swenson reflected back on his past in baseball and pointed out a memorable moment in his career.

“My first summer of Legion Ball had a lot of good players, and we played very well all summer,” Swenson said. “We were ranked in the top three throughout the summer, winning every tournament we played with the exception of the state tournament where we finished second. We went to a regional where I hit a home run on the University of Cincinnati’s new field.”

As some people refer to time flying, Swenson’s career in playing baseball flew by, and he leaves advice for those who are still playing and possibly close to graduating.

“Play the game hard with every game, every pitch and every at bat,” Swenson said.

Swenson can be seen by first base when the Colonels are at bat, helping to advance runners into scoring position during games.