In and around Charlotte, the Hill family and baseball are synonymous.

Garry Hill, the son of Ed and Rachel Hill, grew up on the east side of Charlotte and began playing baseball at the age of 11.   It didn’t take long for Garry to realize that he loved the game and possessed a special talent for pitching.  Garry was a standout on the 15-year-old team that won the Colt League World Series.  He attended Garinger High School where he was the star pitcher on back-to-back State Championship teams.  He also led the Post 9 American Legion team to two World Series appearances in three years and won the title in 1965.  Garry turned down the opportunity to sign with the Washington Senators out of high school and accepted a full baseball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  He still holds the ACC record for lowest single season earned run average (0.71).  The Atlanta Braves drafted him after only two years of college baseball as the third overall pick in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.  Coach Hill enjoyed a wonderful career with the Braves and then the St. Louis Cardinals, during which he was a teammate with the likes of Hank Aaron, Dusty Baker, Keith Hernandez, and Joe Torre.  Unfortunately, his professional career was cut short due to torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.  Despite the discovery of this devastating injury Garry was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals organization as a pitcher, after hitting 17 homeruns as an outfielder in one season for the Greenwood Braves. Garry is always willing to share his experiences, and he thrills children and adults alike with stories about facing Reggie Jackson, striking out Ernie Banks, and pitching against Nolan Ryan.   

Garry’s brother Eddie Hill followed closely in Garry’s footsteps by making a name for himself in high school and college.  Eddie was also a member of the 1965 American Legion World Series Championship team.  He led the ACC in hitting during the 1968 season as a member of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tarheels.  He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds during the 1969 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

When Garry Hill and Sandra Prophet met, it was only natural that they’d hit it off….after all, Sandra had been around the game of baseball as a sibling of Billy Prophet, a Garinger High School and Clemson University standout.  It was even more fitting that she’d become the wife of a former major leaguer, and mother of three Division I student-athletes.  As a mother and a teacher, she has devoted her life to teaching her sons and her students the value of being well-rounded and independently sufficient.  Sandra currently teaches 5^th grade at Reedy Creek Elementary School in Charlotte, and is also the Director of the new On Deck Academic Academy, which is designed to aid student-athletes with test-taking strategies, test performance, and developing effective studying techniques and habits.  She received her National Board Certification during the 2001 school year. 

The first of Garry and Sandra’s three sons, Jason Hill, became the second player in West Charlotte school history to be given a Division I scholarship.  He went on to have a successful career at UNC Charlotte where he was recognized as a 3-time All-Conference USA selection, Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger National player of the Week, 1998 NCAA Central Regional Participant, and Team MVP.  He finished his career in the top five in every offensive category.  Jason graduated with a BA in English in 1999 and immediately began his coaching career as an assistant coach for Loren Hibbs at UNC Charlotte, while teaching freshman seminar courses and serving as an Athletic Academic Counselor.  He received a Masters Degree in English Education from UNC Charlotte in 2002.  He resigned his position at UNC Charlotte after the 2002 season, but continued teaching at the high school level.  After his first year of teaching at the high school level Coach Hill was selected as a Cabarrus County Schools First Class Teacher of the Year Finalist and was awarded the Cabarrus County Schools First Year High School Teacher of the Year Award.  In 2003, Mike Shildt asked Jason to take over the head coaching position with the 18 and under On Deck O’s.  Like the 2002 O’s, Jason’s 2003 O’s team again surpassed expectations by winning 5 different State and Regional Tournaments and finished 3^rd overall out of an 80 team field consisting of the best teams in the world at the Perfect Game/Baseball America World Wood Bat Championships in Jupiter, Florida.  Most importantly, once again every senior on the roster was offered a college scholarship.  Jason Hill is currently the Director of the On Deck O’s Teams and Head Coach of the O’s senior team.   During his four years at UNC Charlotte, Jason met Janine (Repole) Hill from Somerville, New Jersey.  Janine was a softball standout for the 49ers, where she still ranks in the top ten in nearly every career offensive and pitching category at Charlotte.  The couple married in July of 2000, and currently resides in Charlotte with their five children, Matthew, Emily, Sydney, Michael and Louis. 

Kevin Hill, Garry and Sandra’s second son, played at West Charlotte High School under Coach Mike Shildt where he was a 2-time all conference and all-state selection and set the single season and career records for stolen bases.  He signed a scholarship to play along side his brother at UNC Charlotte where he was also a member of the 1998 team that went to Texas A&M University for the NCAA Central Regional.  He served as an assistant baseball coach at Pfeiffer University under Chris Pollard, now the head baseball coach at Appalachian State University.  Kevin was the first member of the Hill family to get involved at On Deck, where he continued his career in coaching and team management at On Deck, coaching the first ever On Deck team.  Kevin is currently the General Manager of On Deck as well as the Head Coach of the 2009 O’s team.   

Youngest son, Travis Hill, was an all-conference selection at Vance High School and Pfeiffer University after transferring to UNC Charlotte for his final three years of college.  Like his father, his baseball career was cut short by an unfortunate shoulder injury.  He received his BA in Sociology from Charlotte.  While at UNC Charlotte, Travis met Susan (Coyle) Hill, a teammate of Janine Hill on the Charlotte 49ers softball team.  The couple married in April of 2005.  He is the Head Coach of the 2008 On Deck O’s and the Director of the O’s Strength and Conditioning Program.