Days after Joey McClung led Springfield’s baseball team to one of its most successful seasons in years, he resigned as coach.

“To be perfectly honest, I was pleased with the way we did this year, but not everybody shared that opinion,” McClung said. “There was a difference of opinion on the direction of the program and since I didn’t think my contract was going to be renewed, I decided to resign my position.”

School district officials have referred questions about the Springfield position to district spokesperson Jim Bellis, who said in an email Tuesday that the district does not comment on personnel issues.

After the Yellow Jackets finished their season with a 15-18 record, it didn’t take long for McClung to land a job at East Robertson Elementary and secure a position as an assistant for the high school football and baseball teams.

East Robertson football coach Chad Broadrick and head baseball coach Derek Wix said they were both glad McClung made that decision.

“We were excited to have him,” Broadrick said. “He came right in and fit in well with all the coaches and players alike.

“The first couple of days he worked hard to learn everyone’s name and build a relationship with them, and in my opinion, that’s the most important thing you can do as a new coach coming in.”

McClung has history with both coaches.

“For me, it was an easy fit because Coach Wix was my coach in both football and baseball for my final two years at Heritage, and I got to see Coach Broadrick play at White House when he was there,” McClung said.

Wix said he believes McClung will bring a lot to the table for his squad.

“Since I coached Joey for two years I’ve always followed his career in college and then was glad to see that he was able to land a job here in the county last year,” Wix said. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out over there, but we’re excited to have him here at East.

“Joey comes from a great family and will be a welcome addition on both baseball and the football staff’s. We think he’ll bring a fresher knowledge of the college game because he’s only been out of it for a couple of years, so he’ll definitely help us be more competitive and give us an edge. I also think that because he’s closer to the player’s age that he’ll bring something that we haven’t had for a while. Every team needs coaches to fill different roles and I think he’ll do well in his role, we’re really looking forward to it.”