Kai Hale knew he’d be back.  

It was during the high school baseball season in the spring of 2023 that Hale knew the day before eventually losing in the state playoff game, that everything would come back to him.  

That same day, before game day, he had a conversation with his former teammate, Alex Mooring, which acted as a catalyst.  

At that moment, Hale said what’s now true.  

“I remember this was at the end of the practice,” Hale said. “We had already broke down the meeting and whatnot, everybody’s starting to leave, and he and I had a moment on the mound. And I just remember looking around the entire field from the mound, and I said to myself and him, I said, ‘Hey, if tomorrow’s our last game, I truly believe this won’t be my last time on this field.’ 

“Something always sat right with me. I always had a feeling that I’d be back at Jordan [High School].”  

How exactly did a 21-year-old land a head coaching position at his former high school, not even five years after graduating from there? What did he do? Who helped him along the way? 

What is his story? 

The Backstory 

Blood was everywhere.  

Kai had to undergo 10 surgeries before the age of 10.  

10.

Although much before those surgeries came to be, his dad, John Hale, found him outside of the United States in Kazakhstan.  

Kai, or his name shared at the hospital, Aidar (now his middle name), is adopted.  

John and his former wife found him in an orphanage, an idea that began to circulate through his mind after attending church one day. From then on, the thoughts continued to churn, and both of them learned more about adoption. After some time, a decision was made, and the process began — adopting a child was in their cards.  

“It started, kind of, you know, working in my heart,” John said. “And I think it was God’s way of kind of working on me.”  

John’s connections to doctors at church, in addition to being surrounded by UNC Medical Center and Duke Hospitals, helped guide his decision of choosing a child, a child who needed more than just a home. 

As the process moved along, John’s mission was clear: finding a child in need of extra medical assistance, particularly with a cleft palate. 

“We felt like that was something we could also contribute to,” John said.  

While researching, John found that Kazakhstan stood as the lone place that needed more medical attention for children than other countries.  

“We worked with the agency and then [they] tried giving us a few children that needed help,” John said. “Kai was the only one of the ones that needed medical attention that had the cleft palate. And he was actually one of the older children at that time that was still in the orphanage.”  

Whenever the time came for John to meet his son, he found him to be soft and gentle — no issue was found during his first impression, at least.  

“He was a sweet little boy,” John said. “He didn’t act like he had a problem at all, even though he had pretty severe cleft palate problems — had difficulty eating, so he was malnourished. And they had done very little care for his cleft palate. So, he was the oldest child at the time, right at four years old.”  

But going back to the blood being everywhere.  

Multiple procedures were dealt with simultaneously. He had to undergo anesthesia. A plastic surgeon, an ENT doctor and even a dentist were on site — a few of Kai’s teeth were not growing properly. 

“He came out of that surgery, and he was bleeding from like three to four different places on his body,” John said.  

The moments leading up to Kai taking on the battle resulted in something John can’t forget. It lives in his memories. He did what was right. He was taking care of his kid, no matter what it took.  

“It’s an emotional feeling,” John said. “I’m a little choked up remembering walking back down the hall at Duke, with your little child in a hospital bed and prepped for surgery.”  

After Kai’s surgery, at such a young age, followed constant hospital visits. He needed to meet with the team. When he was seven years old, he had his cleft palate surgery. John spoke to the head of the plastic surgery department and will not forget this one comment he received during their conversation. 

“We’re going to take care of him,” the plastic surgeon said. “But I’ll tell you, the hole in the roof of his mouth — there’s multiple zip codes of space up there.”  

It took a lot to make everything come together. All hands on deck. All for a young child in need of help. The kind of help John was in pursuit of. Kai’s cleft palate repair was successful, even though it took some time.  

“It felt like it was all day,” John said.   

While the repair went the way John hoped, Kai still had to deal with lingering ear issues afterwards, which is common for those dealing with a cleft palate. More surgeries had arrived, leading to more overnight stays to recover. Sutures in his lip became an obstacle, leading Kai to eat differently. However, he still kept going to class — that wouldn’t stop him.  

The journey continued, but the goal was to be done by the time middle school came around the corner.  

“As kids get older, sometimes it can get a little more cruel in the words they say, making fun of people,” John said. “He always seemed to manage it well.”  

This is where baseball comes into play.  

Due to all the procedures Kai had gone through, he did not play tee-ball. He was behind developmentally. That was only temporary. Nutrition entered the situation, and that’s where he started to grow.  

His first lick of playing the sport that has encapsulated his whole life began with machine pitch – a blue machine that spits out a baseball toward home plate – for South Durham Little League.  Machine pitch makes it easy enough for younger players to make contact with the ball.  

He gave soccer a try, too, but baseball is what clicked. Although during Kai’s first go at the game, he needed to protect himself more than the typical player would. The work of all the surgeons who laid a hand on him had to be sheltered.  

“There was a couple times we had to get a helmet with a face guard,” John said. “After putting him through 5-6 surgeries, on his mouth specifically, we did not want a baseball coming and hitting him in the mouth.”  

Yet that still didn’t change his mind about the sport. No refusal. No argument.  

That’s where it all took off. The beginning of baseball.   

Life Outside the Baseball Universe

He’s a big fantasy sports fanatic. He’s “a sweat.” Sheets of paper, filled with stats. He hosts a baseball and football league on Yahoo each year. It got to a point that he had to send his best friend and neighbor since third grade, Braxton Kruhm, a resignation letter, asking him to step away. 

It’s that serious for Kai. 

A die-hard Tar Heel fan, despite attending N.C. State University as an undergraduate student. A Carolina Panther follower, even though 2015 continues to stand as an outlier. He has Cam Newton to thank for that. 

Someone who is patriotic. He’ll stand up for the national anthem even if he’s not at the game in person. A statistics nerd who knows the ins-and-outs of what’s happening. He breathes sports. 

This is who Kai is outside the universe of baseball.  

But he will be honest with you — always. There’s no hiding when it comes to himself. He will never give you a face, then turn around and be a completely different person. That’s not him.  

“Kai is a straight shooter,” Matthew Monastero, his head coach at Jordan High School, said. “I think if you’ve met or you know Kai, you know Kai.”  

As a friend, Kai “will always be there.” He knows how to listen, and when to insert himself into a conversation. “I tell him almost everything,” Kruhm said.  

Beyond his friends, he cares for his players. He cares so much that he even takes the time to attend a play to watch one of his players act. He wants to know who his team is, individually, outside of the baseball field. 

If there’s one thing that Kai never wants to do is lose. And while the same may be applied to everyone else, he takes it to a whole new level. It goes above and beyond.  

From pickup basketball to video games. He’s a competitor. Kai has experienced winning a great deal: The Mayor’s Cup during Little League, Githens Middle School, and, of course, Jordan High School. And surely enough, that’s one trend he hopes to continue moving forward now in 2026. 

“He’s grown up with winning all of his life,” Kruhm said. “I think that’s where he got his mentality from.”

Even though he wants to win, regardless of what it is, Kai is not one to express his emotions. Except for when it comes to writing on cards that you can find at your local store. He’s a hard egg to crack. He’s not as expressive as others may be, and that’s okay. But he is hardworking; Kai stays on the grind. Early mornings until late at night. His work ethic is evident, all working toward the passion he has for baseball.  

“I think it comes a lot from his dad,” Tara Hale, Kai’s mom, said.  

In addition, a guy named Derek Jeter, books, articles and quotes all contributed to Kai’s mature well-being. He learned how to help around the house at a young age. He did the chores. And there are only a few times that Tara recalls helping him out with anything related to his laundry.  

It’s because he could do it on his own, in a similar manner to how he has forged a path to where he is today – coaching at Jordan High School.

Full Circle 

Before it was possible for Kai to have the opportunity to become the JV head coach at his former high school, he needed experience. He needed a resume to prove that he has what it takes to manage a program such as Jordan High School’s. Jordan High School has traditionally been known for its baseball team over the years. It was fortunate to find success, unlike other schools in the Durham area.  

Insert: Riptide Baseball. The travel baseball team of Durham.  

Kai, a former Riptide player himself, while taking up a major in sports management at NCSU and, fittingly, a minor in coaching education, had to take up an internship of some sort to help him graduate. That’s where Corey Gross’ help, the general manager of Riptide, becomes crucial. He created a pathway within Kai’s road map that has bolstered his coaching career.  

“We’ve done a few internships in the past, so it’s not something that was foreign to us,” Gross said. “I think for Kai, we tried to concentrate on a couple of different things. Kai obviously has a strong passion for coaching. One thing I love about Kai: He will leave a practice and will literally write down all of things that he learned from the practice.”  

Through Riptide, that’s where Kai gained experience leading a team. Reps, after reps. Game, after game. Moment, after moment. He learned. He formed connections, bouncing from team to team, amongst the different age groups that Riptide has to offer. He was a “floating assistant.” It started with him on the 12u team (kids ages 12 and under), but not too long after, just a month and a half later, Gross gave him the chance to be the interim head coach of the 16u showcase team. His tenure lasted from August 2023 until December 2024.  

“I truly believe he [Corey Gross] saw something in my coaching future before I saw it in myself,” Kai said. 

Kai spent time coaching alongside Monastero. Monastero was present all four years from Kai’s time as a freshman to when he was a senior. Their bond extended from just a player and coach to coach and coach.  

“There’s no other guy I can think of that helped jump-start my coaching career than Coach Monastero at Riptide Baseball,” Kai said.  

In early December of 2024, Gross told Kai that Panther Creek High School in Cary, North Carolina, needed a head coach for junior varsity, also known as JV. Another member of Riptide’s coaching arsenal, Cameron Norgen, was the varsity head coach. Kai’s interest sparked. He was intrigued.  He told Gross to let Norgen know that he wants to learn more.  

A week went by, and Norgen gave Kai’s phone a buzz.  

They discussed baseball philosophies, all on top of the idea of Kai becoming the JV head coach. But Norgen, a Panther Creek alum, was only in his first season on the staff, looking to make sure all the ground was covered before the official start of the season.  

Another week went by, and Kai was hired. He got the job. The position belonged to him.  

“That’s where our story starts,” Kai said. “Even though I met him through Riptide, that connection put me in line to be the JV coach at Panther Creek. 

“We started feeling each other out, but we’re both so dedicated to making the program the best it can be, no matter what. And it starts with culture. We had the same belief on how to build a program. It’s not win, win, win right away. We have to establish a trust system. The trust system being the culture.” 

Though there was only one thing that could pull Kai away from Panther Creek High School. It was a tall task for any school to pull Kai out of his first-ever gig at the high school ranks. 

As he entered year one as the JV head coach, it was with a two-year plan. Nonetheless, it wasn’t impossible.  

Being a proud alum of the school, Kai, along with Kruhm, traveled down to catch Jordan’s Elite 8 matchup against Laney High School — a fight to reach the Final Four of the 2025 NCHSAA 4A Baseball State Playoffs. The two buddies made the three-hour trip down to Wilmington, North Carolina, and Kruhm ignited something in Kai’s mind.  

“On the way up there,” Kai said. “Braxton asks, ‘Hey, would you ever leave Panther Creek, right now? Like if another job came knocking, would you leave?’”  

Kai didn’t say anything. But the two knew what the answer would be.  

Two weeks later, Kai found out about the big news. It was game-changing for him.  

“Monastero and I are talking at the Riptide facility after our 16u practice,” Kai said. “And he tells me, ‘Hey Coach, I took the head coaching job at Felton Grove High School. I’m leaving Jordan High School.’”  

By this time, Monastero served as the JV head coach at Jordan. Kai was the first person to find out, which meant something to him. It was valuable. And just like everyone in life, Monastero found the next opportunity for his coaching career, which cracked the door just a bit for Kai, for maybe something to happen in his favor. 

That something? Well …  

Once more, another two weeks fly by. Time continued to tick.  

It was 3:45 p.m. on Monday, July 7, 2025. Kai held an individual workout with a player from Jordan High School at Herndon Park, near The Streets of Southpoint Mall.  

11 minutes passed by.  

His phone rang.  

It was Michael Valder, Jordan High School’s varsity head coach, calling to offer Kai the job to become the next JV head coach.  

“I was looking for a JV coach,” Valder said. “Initially, my thought process was that I wanted somebody who I knew would invest in Jordan and understand, you know, the distant history of the program. And continue carrying that forward as best as they could. I wanted somebody that was energetic, exuberant.  

“Kai is all of those things.” 

But before officially accepting the offer a week later, Kai reached out to his circle. He made phone calls to people close to him, those familiar with what he had gone through until that moment. The Riptide coaches all shared a similar message. They wanted him to look out for his future. And in that future, the one he was building toward centered on him being a varsity head coach. The likelihood of that happening would be at Jordan, not Panther Creek

Kai wants it to be at Jordan High School. 

“It would’ve shocked everybody if I didn’t take that job,” he said.  

Then, the tough conversations arrived. They arrived during Panther Creek’s summer games. Kai had to face sharing the news with Norgen that the two-year plan is no longer going to happen.  

In spite of that, Norgen understood that Kai was doing it for his future.  

“It was a great conversation,” Kai said. “We’re on great terms right now. He knows why I left.”  

For Kai, who had shared plenty of speeches as a coach, needed to do it one last time for the players and program, he was leaving. He practiced. One whole week. He spent his 45-minute drives from his home to Panther Creek or a Riptide practice, trying to figure out what he was going to say to the group of players that would forever be remembered as a part of his early stages as a coach.  

So, the final game of the summer came about. Kai needed to have his speech ready.  

“It was nerve-wracking,” he said. “Knowing that, here I am having to tell a team that I just got really close with, that I’m leaving after one year, when they all thought I was coming back for a second year.

“Even I thought I was coming back for a second year.”   

Despite the emotions his words provoked, Kai was satisfied, to say the least.  

“That was the best speech I ever gave,” he said.  

Following the knee his players gave him, they all rose for a standing ovation. Then, shared a moment with each of them, one by one, before exiting the field. He left gracefully.   

These days, Kai’s getting ready. 

This time, as the JV head coach of Jordan High School, sporting the same red, blue and white colors that he did three years ago as a player. 

He asks questions, gains advice, working proactively in his mission to give his players things he didn’t have himself. From a throwing program that he created with Mark Lusczczynski, Riptide’s head pitching coach, to help keep the players’ arms in the best condition possible, no excuses. He also implemented a weightlifting program. He’s trying to make it easier for the players to succeed. Kai is handing them the tools they need to be at their best.

In Kai’s first game as the JV head coach, Jordan defeated Wakefield High School on the road, 8-4. A fitting way to kickstart the bigger picture.   

Rebranding his legacy. 

“I didn’t have the playing career I wanted to have,” Kai said. “I’m super proud of the things I did as a leader, [a] captain. I wear that very proudly, but I don’t want to be known as the guy who, every now and then, made a play. Nobody wants to be known for that. So, when I started taking coaching, I want to be the best coach I could possibly be.  

“I don’t want to be just another coach. I want to be the coach.”