Tim Kessell’s journey through baseball has taken him to all parts of the country. Now a Madison resident, Tim has taken his passion for the game to the Madison Travel Baseball and Madison Little League programs, where he’s instilling lifelong lessons to the town’s young ballplayers both on and off the field.

With his father Jim serving in the Coast Guard, Tim grew up a military brat. Tim’s hometown was Weatherly, Pennsylvania, but he played baseball in numerous towns while growing up, including Jonesport, Maine; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Thibodaux, Louisiana. Although he was moving from town to town, Tim says that baseball was a constant for him and that playing the sport always made him feel at home.

“Baseball has been a big part of my life. I played on every team, every year, and every chance I could,” says Tim. “I was a military brat, so I would move around quite a bit. I would always look for the baseball program as a way to integrate into friendships and learn about the communities.”

Tim played his freshman year of high school baseball in Thibodaux before moving back to Weatherly for the next three years. He graduated in 1997 and then played a year of baseball at Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania. Tim loved playing baseball and, even in times of failure, he found there was always a lesson to be learned during his time on the diamond.

“The perspective of being a player is important. You understand the expectations that coaches have of you. You look for the camaraderie and the friendships,” Tim says. “I love the tradition of baseball. I love the failure aspect. The best players to ever play failed 70, 80 percent of the time. There’s a lot that can be learned from that personally and from a team perspective. I always looked forward to overcoming something that might have tripped you up the day before.”

Following a year at Lock Haven, Tim went on to serve in the United States Coast Guard like his father. Tim served for 22 years before retiring from the military in 2020. Tim always wanted to be a leader when he was playing baseball and took that same mentality with him into the Coast Guard. Tim soon realized that coaching seemed to fit the ideals he had based his life around.

“I always wanted to be one of those leaders and motivators on the teams I played on. I tried to be dependable, I tried to be there for my teammates,” Tim says. “Those fundamental values carried forward to adulthood. It was very similar to the roles I played in the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Tim’s first coaching job was as an assistant boys’ soccer coach in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Tim enjoyed his transition into coaching and felt that his experiences as a leader and mentor guided him as he took on that role.

Tim and his family moved to Madison in 2010. In 2013, Tim’s son Nate started playing tee-ball, and he’s been coaching in Madison ever since. As he began coaching more, Tim started to realize how much it meant to him. Tim knew that he wanted to make an impact on his players, but he didn’t realize how much they would impact him.

“A lot of times folks think about you influencing the players, but you don’t realize how much the players influence you as a person. Having that aspect and perspective is what continues to motivate me to be that influencer to young folks,” Tim says. “The game of baseball is a vehicle and method to teach some of those lessons that are important in life.”

Tim is currently the president of Madison Travel Baseball, having served in that role for nearly a year after former president Ken Carone suggested that he step into the position. In Madison Little League, Tim has been mostly coaching the same group of players since their 9-U season. He was the head coach of the 9-U and 10-U teams in consecutive years before becoming an assistant coach at the 12-U level.

Tim was reunited with his team on the 12-U circuit when he served as a head coach this summer. Tim loves coaching Little League and seeing the diverse backgrounds of the kids that he gets to work with.

“Little League is everything everyone thinks it is. It’s one of the best organizations on the planet. You have different ballplayers with different abilities, different ages, all coming together with the hopes of being a part of something bigger than themselves,” says Tim. “It’s a real joy to be someone entrusted to help guide and provide those types of experiences.”

This year, Madison’s 12-U All-Stars baseball team won the District 9 title and made a run to the final of the Section 3 Tournament. Tim says it was a summer that he will always remember as a result of how everyone on his team connected and came together by the end of the season.

“It’s something I’ll never forget. You put so much love and energy into the players,” Tim says. “I was fortunate to have a great staff with me. Coaches are never a one-man show. Teams are never a one-man show. The dynamic of the staff and the players wanting to achieve something bigger than themselves was just awesome.”

Along with baseball, Tim has also served as a coach in Madison Youth Football for the past six years. No matter what team he’s coaching, Tim is always looking for his players to be respectful, responsible, and accountable to both themselves and the people around them. Tim wants them to understand what it means to play for Madison and to always represent themselves and their team with class.

“One of the most important aspects from a team of mine is personal responsibility of each player to themselves and to the team. Accountability is big for me. Respect is paramount—for yourself, the game, and your opponents,” says Tim. “Having Madison on your jersey, they’re representatives of our community. How you carry yourself will carry on much further than the game.”

Tim feels that coaching is a privilege and embraces the opportunity to share his passion with the next generation of Madison ballplayers. When he coaches, Tim focuses on teaching his athletes how to overcome adversity. While he wants to win, Tim’s main goal is fostering a love of baseball in his players and ensuring that they all understand the lessons you can learn from the game.

“It’s a privilege. Getting the players, parents, the community, and the organization to trust you as an influencer and a leader should never be taken lightly by anyone who coaches,” Tim says. “All coaches are just looking to give back and carry on some of the traditions and legacies that they have experienced. Your hope is that every player you’ve been a part of wants to continue playing baseball.”