I was completely out of coaching baseball last spring for reasons I've alluded to in this space before. A friendship or two was ruptured beyond repair due to circumstances beyond my control. It was tough and I missed it, especially being on the fields with boys I had coached for three years. It was difficult, too, to watch from the outside as others coached Joe, and a few of my original Dodgers. I spent a lot of time at the dugout offering encouragement to all of the boys, not just Joe, when they struggled. It wasn't the same, though, as being on the field.
That's where I belong. On the baseball field, coaching. And that's where I am this fall for what looks to be my last ride as Coach Phil. My coaches are different, of course, but they're good men that love their boys and are willing to spend time in their development as baseball players. I'll be running things, which I had missed in the three years Joe played for the D-Backs, and when he played in all-stars with the Braves.
I have my original Junior Dodgers - Trey, George, Bennett, Ram, Nico, and Joe - which seems fitting if this is the end of the line for me as a baseball coach. Those boys were with me when they were four and five years old in the Wookie (coach pitch) league and now, seven years later, they're with me again. It's the perfect bookend, really, to more than a decade of coaching JP's and Joe's baseball teams.
I also picked up a few of the Braves. Good boys, a few of whom are promising athletes. Joe knows them from having played all-stars with them the last two summers. It's a Dodgers-Braves combo team but because I am the had coach and it's my last ride, we're called the Dodgers. No longer the Junior Dodgers. The Dodgers. Old school.
The fall season is somewhat abbreviated. It's always a busy season, too, because so many of the boys play tackle football (St. Henry's), flag football, or soccer. One of my original Junior Dodgers is playing travel baseball, too, so he'll have a few scheduling conflicts.
The late summer weather has been crazy. I've never seen so much rain in August. The downside is that we have had multiple practices rained out. Our first and only real practice before games start Saturday was Tuesday night, earlier this week. Attendance was spotty - seven boys - due to scheduling conflicts, including the USN middle school play. Yes, my guys are well rounded.
Still, I had Joe, Mikey (whom I drove to practice), Emmett (recovering from a broken arm he go skateboarding), Huck, Bennett, Trey, and Henry (Chauncey).
7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. is not an ideal school night practice slot but I really wanted the boys to have two practice per week. We practice on Sunday afternoons, too. And, for me, even after a long day of work, being out on the baseball field - field #2 - with the boys under the lights is the best.
I'm so glad Henry is playing. I don't know him well, although Joe has played for him on the Braves' all-star team the last two summers. He goes to school at St. Henry's with several of our other players. He's chunky, although he'll probably grow out of that, and wears pretty thick glasses. He's on the quiet side but I'm going to work on that this season. I can sense a warm, funny personality behind the glasses and shyness. He's surprisingly strong and swings a heavy bat. From two summer ago to this past summer, he really improved as a hitter.
Henry is my kind of kid, a bit of an underdog. I think he's been overlooked a bit by his baseball coaches because he's quiet and doesn't look like a traditional athlete or, maybe, baseball player. But it's in there. I know it. My job this fall is to find it. I want to give him confidence and a belief in himself that I'm not sure he has, because he can take that with him from the baseball field, to school, and to life.
That's one of the things I love the most about coaching. Every boy is a riddle and I get to figure out the answer. How do I reach him? What can I give to him to help his reach his full potential? How can I help him develop confidence that he can use to sustain him long after baseball is over?
Huck was absolutely ripping the ball at practice. He's one of the most enthusiastic boys I've ever coached, like a puppy that's suddenly grown big and doesn't know his own strength. Huck's voice has changed and he's gotten stronger. His throwing is a work in progress, still. But he has a chance to be special as a hitter. Batting from the left side, he was hitting the ball with power to all fields Tuesday night as I pitched batting practice. It was a sight to see.
Joe started hitting - for the first time - with JP's old Axe bat. He was hitting the ball well, too. I'd love for him to start hitting with power this fall. We'll see.
I want to savor every minute I'm on the field with the boys - the Dodgers - this fall because this appears to be the end of the line for me as a baseball coach. In all likelihood, Joe will play for someone else this spring and beyond.
Damn, I'll miss this.
Joe, Katie Roth, Nico, and JP after an impromptu baseball workout at Rose Park early Saturday morning. A day to remember, for sure.
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