By Benjamin Marshall |Contributor 
The coach of Augusta University’s baseball team has seen the sport at all levels.A small-town baseball player from Fitzgerald, Ga., Chris Howell was a high school pitcher who had his eyes on the Major Leagues as he earned all-state honors three times. After high school, Howell went to Pensacola Junior College.After spending two years at the Florida junior college, Howell went on to Knoxville, Tenn., to pitch for the University of Tennessee Volunteers. He helped lead his team to the 2005 College World Series in his senior season with the Vols.After college, Howell was picked up by the Los Angeles Angels. The American League club placed him in its minor-league system. He stayed there two seasons. His second season was the more successful of the two. The right-hander posted a 2-6 record with a 4.39 earned-run average. He struck out 59 batters and only walked 27 in 69 and two-thirds innings for the Cedar Rapids Kernels in the single-A Midwest League.“The minor-league system is so different than any other baseball I played,” said Howell, in his second season as the Jaguars’ coach. “Once you make it to professional ball it becomes more about individual performance, and the team aspect is not really there.”Howell never got past A ball and then landed in coaching almost haphazardly. The AU mentor, who has a bachelor’s degree in education from UT, got into coaching at the high school level and wasn’t looking to make a career out of coaching.“I got started in coach as a way to help a buddy and kind of got pulled into it when he stopped,” Howell said jokingly.From there he went on the Middle Georgia State College as an assistant coach for two seasons. Following that stint, Howell made a move to Young Harris University for a year before taking an assistant positon at Augusta University. The next year Howell was named the head coach for the Jaguars.Howell, whose first AU team went 29-22 and earned a No. 18 national ranking, brings a new message for the team this year.“Don’t be afraid to fail,” he told the players. “Games don’t always go your way and life doesn’t always go your way, but you can’t be afraid to fail.”Howell’s remarks reflect how he coaches his team. The Jags have had a wild start to the season so far. One game with the final score of 18-16 ending in a Jags’ win.“Fighting through adversity is the main goal because anything can happen when you’re on that field,” he said.Through March 18, the Jags were 8-18 overall and 7-12 in the Peach Belt Conference. On St. Patrick’s Day, AU upset host sixth-ranked Flagler 17-11 in another wild game in which the Jags hit eight home runs. That total tied the conference record for the most homers in a single game.AU’s Zack Goble and Ty Hobbs each hit three homers. Goble was 5-for-5 with five runs batted in (RBI), Hobbs was 4-for-5 with four RBI and four runs. That was Flagler’s only conference of the season so far.