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Starting with his son \u2014 and a couple of nephews \u2014 he dove into youth baseball coaching headfirst. Over the years, he coached T-ball players just learning how to swing a bat, all the way up to teenagers preparing for middle school and high school ball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At one point, between the late 1990s and early 2000s, he was coaching three teams at once while raising three children involved in the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI had three teams, and I coached my two boys and my daughter. I\u2019d go to the ballpark with three different uniforms and get everyone changed at the ballpark,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also coached his three nieces \u2014 something he said he was especially proud of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Decades later, he is still in the field \u2014 only this time with grandchildren wearing the uniforms. Today, he coaches a 5- and 6-year-old T-ball team that includes his granddaughters, along with two grandsons who play on another team. Watching the next generation take the field has become a full-circle moment for Wiser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m coaching kids today, and I look up in the stands, and I\u2019ll see their mom or dad, whom I also coached,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, the running joke is, \u2018You know how old I am? I\u2019m as old as dirt. I coached your parents.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though the years have passed, his reason for coaching has remained the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI enjoy being around the kids,\u201d he said. \u201cI enjoy teaching the kids to stay safe and have a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That impact has followed him far beyond the baseball diamond. He recalls one former player\u2019s mother, Amanda Parks, who still calls him by an old coaching phrase decades later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery time she sees me, she calls me, \u2018Pick me up early,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThat was one of my go-to phrases on the field. I didn\u2019t realize that I would say it when I was coaching third. When I talked to my base runners, I would holler, \u2018Pick me up early,\u2019 and they\u2019d pay attention to me early.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the years, he said he has also learned that many children arrive at the ballpark carrying burdens that have nothing to do with baseball. For some kids, the field becomes a refuge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou know, there\u2019s a lot more going on in their lives than baseball,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are a lot of situations that are not good, and you\u2019re hoping that for three or four hours a week, you can kind of get them away from things that they may be struggling with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wiser added that he wants the ball field to be a place where kids feel safe, encouraged, and valued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want to give them a place where they can come and feel comfortable and relax. I want them to know they\u2019re in a good place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That philosophy has shaped the way he approaches coaching in every age group, from T-ball beginners to teenagers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He teaches fundamentals, teamwork, and sportsmanship. But he also hopes players leave the field and understand something bigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou want to see them grow, you want to see them mature, you want to see them work together,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the end of the day, you know that one day they\u2019ll be a good mom or be a good dad or be a good citizen in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He believes organized sports, whether baseball, football, band, or theater, remain essential for young people growing up in an increasingly digital world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPut the video games down \u2014 and our iPad, iPad, iPad. Put the phones down, you know, interact with these kids,\u201d said Wiser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And after 30 years in the dugout, the legacy he hopes to leave behind has little to do with championships or trophies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI hope that they realize that I cared about them,\u201d he said. \u201cThat it wasn\u2019t just about the game \u2014 it was about teaching them about life.\u201d GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For three decades, summer evenings in Lincoln County have carried the sound of a ball cracking off a bat, dugouts erupting in cheers, and one familiar voice echoing down the third-base line: \u201cPick me up early!\u201d What started as Lincoln County resident Greg Wiser helping coach his children in rec league baseball has grown into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":26270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[69,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fayetteville","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/fayetteville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/3-3-1024x683.jpg\")
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