After my high school days were over, I stopped by my high school's baseball field occasionally and still do, but mostly in the summer to help out with the summer program with the incoming freshmen.
Throughout those year, I got to meet many new coaches to the program that came through the gates onto the field. New coaches as in probably 10 different coaches, maybe more. Some were a new face to me. Some I have already known from the past.
But what I want to talk about is not the varsity coaches, the assistant coaches, nor the junior varsity coach. But I want to talk about the bottom of the system, the rookie ball of coaching: the freshmen coach.
So far this year, I had the chance to help coach along side a friend of mine for 2 games on the North Torrance High School freshmen baseball team. And yes, we did win those 2 games I was there.
But as I helped coach those two games and some practices when I wasn't scheduled in for work, I didn't actually realize how hard of a job it was to coach the freshmen team.
During my high school days, I started on the freshmen baseball team as a freshmen. Sure they were a few kids in my grade that made the varsity team but I guess the varsity coach saw something in them that might be a spark plug for the team that year. On the other hand, being on the freshmen team meant we had our own field we could practice on. Sure it wasn't the best field in the world but it was better than nothing and better than practicing on the same field with the other levels at the same time.
But 9 years later, that field we practiced on is being used for construction.
So, now the freshmen team has to practice on a small, all dirt softball field on the other side of the left field fence of the varsity field, with the track and field discus team practicing in the outfield at times. There are a couple of soccer posts sitting by the right field fence and right next to 3rd base is where some of the school construction is going on. Not only they have all that going on, but they practice with about only 10 baseballs and take batting practice maybe once a week in the cage when all the other varsity and junior varsity kids do.
On top of that, every game is away (good thing is that you don't have to do any field work after the game). But not having your own actually field in not the greatest thing.
With all the hardship the freshmen coach goes through, they don't get recognized as much.
They are the ones that build the foundation of the team for years to come and have to deal with all the adversity of building the characters and fundamentals of the incoming student athletes of the program.
I'm going to be honest, the pay isn't great to be a freshmen coach or the assistant coach of any program, but those guys that are putting their dedicated time to help out because of their love for the game. If it was for the pay, they probably wouldn't in the position they are in now.
And after the season is over, the kids that are now going into their sophomore year isn't really going to remember much of the freshmen year, unless something ridiculous happened.
Local newspapers gives recognition to some of the varsity coaches in the area at the end of the season, but where is the love for all the coaches that dealt with all the underclassmen since their first year of high school?
I know I didn't really appreciate my freshmen coach then (which I do now), but like some kids, I came in thinking I was hot stuff, knew everything and took things for granted.
Helping out with practices and coaching the freshmen team in those 2 games made me really appreciate what the freshmen coaches go through on a daily bases. It's not easy to have practices with limited resources and with the talent some of the coaches get that year.
So I wanted to thank all of the under appreciated coaches that put in their dedicated time to make the kids better in their respective sports and in life.
Jun
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