LEBANON — Longtime Lebanon mentor Charles “Doc” Adams retired in 2022, but the honors for his storied career continue to roll in. During his tenure with the Pioneers, Coach Adams won 463 games, including a Class 2 State Championship in 2021 at Lebanon High, before stepping down as baseball program director following the 2022 season. Adams has been selected to the Virginia Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
“I’m not sure it’s sunk in yet,” Adams said. “I’m honored and humbled. It took a lot of hard work, and I’ve had a lot of good people around me, which made it easier for me. The success didn’t come only from me, it came from players, coaches, and administrators. This isn’t only about Doc Adams. This is about Lebanon High School and the town of Lebanon. Both have been very good to Doc Adams. I’m not going into the Hall of Fame by myself, I’m taking the kids, the town of Lebanon, and the High School with me. That’s the way it should be.”
Adams’s coaching career spanned 37 years. He started at Lebanon in 1986, and he spent 32 as head baseball coach. He was also an assistant baseball, football, and basketball coach during his time at LHS. Doc has clearly had numerous accomplishments since coming from a humble beginning, growing up in the “coal town” of Dante, Virginia.
As a student-athlete, he excelled in three sports (baseball, basketball, and football) at Castlewood High School before graduating in 1975.
“The little kid in Dante was just trying to get out of Dante,” he said. “I owe a lot to (the late) Buddy Poole, getting me a scholarship at East Tennessee State University. He helped Mom and me a lot. I had a little talent, he got me in, and they gave me the opportunity. God blessed me. God has blessed me so much.
“Some days I sit at home and just think…is this really happening?”
Adams suffered some heartbreak in his high school career. The Blue Devils advanced to the baseball state finals three times but lost each. His team fell to Goochland 15-3 in 1973, again to Goochland 6-1 in 1974, and his senior season lost to Madison County 2-0 in 1975.
“After getting beat three straight times in high school,” Adams said. “I wanted that state title. That’s what you play for, I was taught that way at Castlewood. When I brought that attitude to Lebanon, I think people thought I was crazy.
“My program was built from what I learned from coaches I had. We had pride, and that’s what I try to use with my baseball program. Hard work, pride, and determination.”
The baseball diamond at LHS was named Doc Adams Field in 2016, and his number nine jersey was retired.
Needless to say, the highlight of his career was winning the first-ever VHSL state baseball championship in 2021 on the field named in his honor.
“I was given the chance to win a state championship on the field named after me,” he said. “A little kid from Dante, I couldn’t imagine something like that. I’m taking everything in stride, I’m humbled. I know it’s all due to the grace of God.
“A lot of people believed in me. If I start trying to name them, I’ll forget someone. They know who they are, I don’t have to say a word. I know they know, and that’s all that matters.”
It’s been a long journey with ups and downs.
“It’s been a long haul. It hasn’t been easy,” Adams said. “I think about scripture. God said you have to have perseverance and endurance. It wasn’t a sprint. I’m pleased. I wish my Mom and Dad had been around to see it. But I’ve had good people around me.”
The final chapter hasn’t been written for Adams.
“I’m looking for something to do, I think God still has a purpose for me,” Adams said. “Some days I wonder what it is, I’m searching for it. I still consider myself a young man. I still have some fire in me. I’ll never rule out if the right job comes along. Who knows what I might do?”