This year was effectively the ninth inning for baseball coach-turned-principal Jamie Creel.

Creel, Warren Central’s principal, is leaving the field of education after a 21-year all-star career.

Creel worked at Vicksburg High from 1999–2011 as a coach and teacher before being hired on to lead the Vikings.

Creel said a multitude of factors led to this tough decision.

“I’ve got three young children of my own, and there’s been a lot of things over the past few years that have transpired that I just — I needed to step back and catch my breath for a second.

In the last four years, six of Creel’s students have passed away.

“If you talk to any principal in the state and ask them what the toughest thing they’ll ever do as a high school principal, I guarantee you that’s going to be number one on about 90 percent of the lists,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve fully recovered.”

Creel said he thought about leaving education last year, but he believes God brought him back to be with the Wallace family.

“I wouldn’t trade this past year for anything,” he said. “I learned so much from the Wallaces and from Afton especially, and I learned so much from this senior class to see how they rallied around her. It was probably one of the most special years of my life.”

The job will consume you if you let it, Creel said.

“It will take a toll on you,” he said. “Getting here at 7:20 every morning, then leaving at 5 p.m. and heading to a ball game after you scarf down a Wendy’s burger or a Goldie’s cheeseburger, it will get to you.”

Creel said he’s had an open door policy since he started, and that will continue.

“I want to be able to help kids still, and I still look forward to helping kids,” he said.

Creel said the people who know him will say that every single day was a highlight.

“God gave me a unique ability to genuinely interact with students and build relationships with students,” he said. “Every day I came to work and had the ability to interact with kids and to better kids’ lives, that was the biggest highlight for me.”

Creel said a good friend of his has been repeatedly offering him an opportunity for two and a half years, and he finally decided the time was right.

“I’m not shutting the door on education for the rest of my life,” he said. “I think I’ve done a lot of positive things as a baseball coach, a teacher and an assistant principal at Vicksburg and as the principal at Warren Central High School. I think I’ve helped a lot of kids, helped a lot of parents and been a positive role model in the eyes of the community and people who attend these schools.”

Creel said he’s thankful for the experiences he’s been afforded by the community.

“To watch the students and the faculty of Warren Central High School welcome me, and the way they treated my personal kids, the way they treated my wife, is second to none,” he said. “This is a world class organization. I’m going to miss this place with all my heart.”

Vicksburg Warren School District superintendent Chad Shealy said Creel will be missed in the school district.

“Jamie is a fantastic leader,” he said. “He’s a beloved citizen here, and he will continue to be.”

Shealy said Creel is a former Gator and a current Viking and he’s made a lasting impact on the people in the community.

“He’s a great dad, he’s a wonderful principal, and he’ll be dearly missed and never forgotten,” he said. “He’s dearly loved and appreciated, and I appreciate all of his hard work and the commitment he’s given to the students in Vicksburg Warren School District through his principalship and other assignments.”

Shealy said the district is currently taking applications to find Creel’s replacement.