A KT Wiz official told OSEN on the 7th, "Kim Ki-tae, the second-tier coach, recently expressed his gratitude to the club."
KT appointed Kim Ki-tae as the coach of the Futures Team on Oct. 14 last year, who led the KIA Tigers to the unified championship in 2017 in order to strengthen depth through systematic development. "Kim Ki-tae has built his career throughout the Futures Team and the first division, and he is a leader whose leadership has been proven," KT's general manager Na Do-hyun said at the time, expecting a virtuous cycle of development. "I judged him to be the right person to strengthen development including discovery of promising players."
After taking a break due to health problems, Kim returned to the team in mid-May and paid special attention to strengthening the first-tier team's depth. He gave close guidance to players along with the Futures Team's chief coach Seo Yong-bin, and spent much of his time unleashing potential of unfinished prospects. As a result, unknown players including Ahn Chi-young, Kang Hyun-woo, Jung Joon-young, Son Dong-hyun, Lee Sang-dong and Lee Sun-woo showed off their skills after calling up the first-tier team, contributing to the team's leap to the second place. Son Dong-hyun and Lee Sang-dong are also the best hit products of the year discovered by KT.
All the players who revolted against unknown names cited life in Iksan as the driving force for their growth. Ahn Chi-young said, "The Futures Team has a good atmosphere. They emphasize their training in a bright atmosphere. They coach me for what I need in my self-government, and I feel that I have improved a lot," while rookie Jung Joon-young said, "Kim Ki-tae and coaches guide me with passion. When I was in the Futures League, he taught me a lot on how to maximize my strengths."
In the meantime, Kim expressed his gratitude to the KT club after the 2023 season. What is the story? "The coach said he needed to recharge himself. He said he had been running nonstop until now and wanted to have personal time," KT's general manager Na Do-hyun said in a telephone interview with OSEN on the 7th. "The club continued to persuade me to stay until the end of November, but the coach finally made that decision." 토토사이트
Manager Kim, who was well-known as a nurturing expert in the KBO League, and he actually performed in the second division of the 2023 season, so the expression of his resignation was even more regrettable. General manager Na said, "I'm so sorry to hear that the coach is leaving. I can't help it because the coach went because he thought of his personal recharge."
After accepting Kim's offer, KT immediately started selecting the head of its Futures team. With Kim Tae-han, the first-tier pitching coach, mentioned as a strong candidate, insiders, rather than outsiders, are expected to take the helm.
"I think there's someone that Lee Kang-chul is thinking about. It's more likely to change internal positions than to recruit from outside," Na said. "If the coach finishes his thoughts and finally decides on personnel appointments, he will officially announce the second-tier coach at that time."
