The Next

3 of the 4 assistants were still attending high school during Bernhard. And the 4th would rather not be an assistant much less a head coach. So yes, this is his (the assistant that applied) only "real" coaching experience.

The bottom line is that none of the assistants had the experience necessary to take over the job. I'm sure you will hear about plenty of drama with Edwards getting the job over them.

In years past, I'd agree with you and be skeptical of any hire they made. When Lee was principal, there was almost no importance placed on athletics. It was as if athletics were included because they HAD to. Your view of the school pretty much aligns with the prevailing public perception at the time.

The new admin has been up to the task of completely changing the entire culture of the school, and have done some pretty amazing things in the short time they've been there. But clearly, they also have a long way to go. Nothing that I've seen from them gives me any indication that they rushed through the search and just settled for someone. Whether Edwards is the "right" choice. . .I guess we will have to wait until he at least makes it to campus. Even the best head coaches, no matter the sport, started as an assistant and needed someone to give them the chance to prove themselves.

SMHS makes it official.

Will Edwards, formally the pitching coach at Captain Shreve HS by way of Millsaps College, as well as several summer league Knights Knation teams.

Admin did their due diligence and didn't just go with the easy pick or prioritize an alum. Initially looks to be a solid hire.

Now the question is does he come in and start completely fresh or does he retain any of the current staff. He already has his work cut out for him to re-recruit the players/parents that wanted the current assistant who are threatening to leave.

Too much to type out again. My delusions can be found in my post several pages back.

quote:

---

I gotta know who this was... I have three folks in mind...

---

Not going to drop names . . . but you're probably correct.

More than I assume you would guess. Made it to the semis in 16, and this year would be their 5th in the quarters. Beat some really good teams along the way too. Certainly not elite and very inconsistent. But the school is comparatively young and athletics was a much lower priority in previous admins. The next few years will be telling.

D2S - SMHS vs Buckey
(Penned on the 2.5hr ride home after leaving at 11pm)

Panthers win game 2, bunting across their runs ending the game 3-0. They are one of the best small-ball teams I’ve seen in a long while. Very scrappy with good pitching. No power threats in the lineup but very disciplined and unselfish play.

Game 3 was . . .interesting. I’ve heard it said “go to a baseball game and you’ll see something you've never seen before”.

Warriors jumped out 2-0 in the top of the 1st on a 2-run homer. But Buckeye didn’t lay down. Both teams traded blows and neither gave up. Buckeye chips their way back to a 3-2 lead in the 3rd. SMHS evens things up after walking the bases loaded and a sacrifice. A bad hop to short gives the warriors the lead, looking to put things away. But an errant throw from the left fielder to 3rd attempting to catch a runner leaks towards the SMHS dugout, hitting a bucket and bouncing into the dugout. Warriors think they get a free run but umps call interference on the bucket, and the runner at 3rd out ending the inning. SMHS up 4-3.

Panthers even it up again in the bottom half and Warriors come back up to bat. After a leadoff groundout, next batter hits a nuke into the woods to take the lead again. Right after stepping on home, batter launches his helmet in the air graduation style in celebration, and all hell breaks loose. Umpires gather and eject the batter for unsportsmanlike conduct. SMHS coach argues for a warning and Buckeye coach argues the run shouldn’t count. After a 20 minute delay and lots of yelling from the stands, play resumes with the run counting and player being ejected. Some SMHS parents don’t let it go and give the ump 7 kinds of hell. Umps had enough and tossed the main antagonizer.

After a couple of scoreless innings for both, Buckeye leads off the 6th with a triple to the right field corner, only the 2nd extra base hit for Buckeye in the game and 3rd in the entire series. Panthers push the run across to tie the game again. Earlier in the 6th, Buckeye brings their catcher, who already caught the other 2 games and the 3rd up to that point, to pitch. Kid was a dog, throwing gas and absolutely competing. Warriors struggled to adjust and didn't have an answer at the plate. But they did have their own dude who was cruising in his own right. . . Until the 8th. Buckeye leadoff batter falls behind 1-2. Checks his swing on the next pitch, ball hits the knob, bounces fair in no man’s land, and kid hustles for the single. Momentum was with the Panthers and they looked to walk it off. But the SMHS pitcher was unfazed. Strikes out the next 2 and forces a pop up to end the threat.

After catching almost 3 full games and over 60 pitches, the Buckeye pitcher begins to show fatigue. Warrior leadoff in the 9th works a hitters count, then proceeds to launch a double off the wall to right center. Next batter flies out and runner doesn’t advance. A hard hit grounder to 2nd looked to be the 2nd out and would put the go-ahead run on 3rd. But another weird hop bounces the ball off the 2nd baseman’s glove and rolls into center field. Runner on 2nd is waived home and scores standing up and batter moves to 2nd, SMHS leads 6-5. Looking to add insurance runs, after a strikeout, Warriors attempt a steal of 3rd. Umpire was out of position and missed the call, ending the top of the inning. But there was no quit in Buckeye.

After a leadoff ground out, next batter lines a single to center. The entire town of Buckeye looked to be in the stands and they were going nuts. Momentum starts building for the Panthers and it feels like déjà vu all over again. But the next batter hits a hard ground ball just left of 2nd base. SS snags it on the run, flips it to the 2nd baseman who throws to first in one smooth motion. 1st baseman goes all out with a full split, just in time to complete the only double play for the Warriors on the weekend. Game over. SMHS advances.

Buckeye was very accommodating, agreeing to a double header Friday due to the SMHS prom being Saturday. I think this whole weekend will fall into the “core memory” category for these boys.

God I love this time of year. Series like this is what the playoffs are about. Both teams left it all out on the field, but only 1 could win in the end.

quote:

---

Teurlings looking for a new head baseball coach.

---

Is he willing to move to BR?

Hearing smhs has their guy.

Hmm. If that’s the case, then it sounds like it may be more of a “leading candidate” situation. From what I’m hearing from people in the know, they haven’t been able to interview all the applicants yet and I’d imagine more will apply now that we are getting towards the end of the season. Maybe they do have their guy and the remaining interviews are to maintain perceptions and do their due diligence. But I wouldn’t put money on it.

Whenever their season is done, they need to be ready to make a decision and announce right away. Their opening round matchup looks to be a toss-up and if they come away with the W, they get Vandebilt who they played very close earlier in the season. Anything is possible as long as the interim doesn’t shite the bed like he did against Brusly in the district championship.

quote:

---

former softball coach

---

A former softball coach? Wouldn't be terrible. Skills can translate. As long as they know how to coach.

The (SMHS) former softball coach? No way. . . and that's from the horse's mouth.

quote:

---

Curious what you mean by modern methods

---

Like it or not, today's game is data-driven, and not just BA, ERA, OPS, etc., but the "traditional" stats are still important. Newer metrics like spin rate, velo, and 60 times are tracked for a reason. But it's not the coach's responsibility to maximize every individual player's metrics. That's what private lessons/trainers and outside-of-practice work are for. The coach can and absolutely should get all the metrics for each player throughout the year. Then they can use the data for evaluation, to set goals, and develop a path/plan for the player to improve throughout the year and even their HS career. The old-school "just get stronger" is only a piece of the overall puzzle. It's then up to the player to follow through. If they don't, they get passed up by someone who does. Team practices are for TEAM development, not individual improvement. Players with the work ethic to improve individually outside of practice will put in the extra work and it will present in practice and games in full view of the coaches.

Gone are the days of just maximizing reps. It's about maximizing the efficiency of the reps. You can't just hit in the cages or live at-bats, throw bullpens, and hit in-and-out at every practice anymore. That's how SMHS stagnated. Coaches can use the data to identify areas of weakness on the team and design practice plans and drills to improve them. It also helps to set lineups, defensive positioning, pitching rotations, and keeps players healthy through workload management.

The data is just another tool. Coaches still need to know the game, how to teach it, and motivate their players. But a "modern" coach should be able to use the data to get the most out of their team within the season AND build for long-term success. Any "old school" head coaches that don't adapt will likely find themselves as an assistant or even unemployed.

Maintaining parental relations. . . well that's a whole other topic.