Kirk has spent more than 30 years in player development and minor league pitching instruction for the Chicago White Sox. He started his tenure in 1989 as pitching coach for the South Bend White Sox, following it up with similar work with the club’s minor league teams at Sarasota, Birmingham, Nashville, Calgary and Charlotte. Champion then became minor league pitching coordinator for the White Sox, a job he held for 10 years. He was the minor league field coordinator for the White Sox between 2013 and 2017. In 2018, the White Sox named him Director of Minor League Pitching Instruction. He developed a number of quality pitchers for the White Sox during his tenure and, in 2005, earned a World Series ring.

Before joining the White Sox, Champion was the pitching coach at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale between 1986 and 1988. He also was head baseball coach at Rend Lake Community College for three years prior to that and also toiled two seasons as pitching coach at Southwest Missouri State University.

A native of Granite City, Illinois where he played high school and American Legion baseball in the late 1970s, Champion later had pitching coach duties for Team USA, the Baseball World Cup, the 2006 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, 2009 Baseball World Cup, 2010 qualifying tournament for the Pan American Games, the 2011 Baseball World Cup and the 2011 Pan American Games