rookie gage

Coach Rookie Gage is entering his 1st season with the East Coast Sox 

Rookie Gage, a native of Valdosta, Georgia, is in his 19th year serving as Baseball Director having founded the Hoover Baseball Club in 2007. The organization serves youth development in the Hoover area. He brings decades of playing and coaching experience to East Coast Sox. Gage began his high school career at Oxford High School in Oxford, Mississippi, where he played on the varsity team as an 8th and 9th grader in 1987 and 1988. He later returned to his hometown of Valdosta, GA graduating from Valdosta High School in 1991 lettering three years in baseball.

Gage continued his playing career at Central Florida Community College before advancing to the University of Central Florida, where he played under Head Coach Jay Bergman as part of the historical 1995 nationally ranked team.

He began his coaching career at UCF, serving as an assistant coach from 1996–2000. He later served as an assistant coach at Winter Springs High School in Orlando, Florida, where he led both the offensive and infield programs. In 2002, Gage was instrumental in founding the highly successful Cahaba Mudcats youth developmental organization in Pelham, Alabama. Over the years, he has helped develop numerous players who have advanced to the collegiate level, including programs such as Mississippi State, Jacksonville State, Samford UAB, Auburn, and the University of Alabama.

During his tenure at HBC, Gage has guided the program to multiple championship-level achievements, including the 2009 National High School Summer Tournament Championship in Lexington, Kentucky, the 2010 Disney Championship in Orlando, Florida, and a Sweet 16 finish at the 2011 Cooperstown Dreams Park tournament in New York.. In 2019, he played a key role in leading the HBC Astros 11U team to a Perfect Game Playmaker World Series Championship. Most recently, in 2025, he managed the HBC Heat 9U team to an Alabama Grand Slam State Championship.

Under Gage’s leadership, the HBC baseball program has grown to full capacity and is built on a strong foundation of accountability, teamwork, and a Christ-centered focus both on and off the field.

Outside of baseball, Gage has dedicated over 30 years to pediatric healthcare. He currently serves in Pediatric Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at Children’s of Alabama and also works as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Urgent Care for Children in Hoover, AL. He considers it a privilege to care for young patients and believes that the lessons he learns from them are as meaningful as those he provides.

Rookie is married to Ana Maria Gage, they have 3 children Mia Gage (26), Nicholas Musso (19) and Griffin Musso (16).

Why do I coach with East Coast Sox? 

I’m excited to begin my first season with East Coast Sox and grateful for the opportunity to pour into the players while continuing to learn from such a strong group of coaches and staff.

What stands out most is the Christ-centered environment. The game is important, but the greater calling is who these young men become. Not all will play at the next level, but all are being prepared for lives as men, leaders, and servants.

Ephesians 2:10 reminds us, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” That truth shapes how I approach coaching—helping players grow not just in skill, but in purpose and faith.

I’m thankful to be part of an organization committed to developing both athletes and strong Christian men.

 

GO SOX!!!