So what else is there besides winning?

[Bandit 5160]

I saw some posts complaining about what the Greenville coach is doing and the Hilton Head guy. I am sorry but baseball is a sport and the object of any sport is to WIN, to take down the competition by ANY MEANS YOU CAN! It 's a dog-eat-dog world as a whole, so you have to go for yours at the expense of everyone else! Shoot, no one else is going to think twice about knocking YOU down to reach THEIR goals! And great coaches will always get great players! I hope Matthew West, who should be 4A coach of the year for what he's done with a Dorman team that wasn't even expected to contend in their region this year, will make Dorman a school kids want to transfer into for baseball. After all, that is part of what it takes to be a consistent baseball power. And anyway, Mauldin is still the best baseball school in Greenville County, not Greenville High.

 

[COHAZE]

I guarantee you Matt West does not share your philosophy, and wishes you would just shut up and go away. But he has done a great job, and deserves any award he may get.

 

[Bandit 5160]

Well on the subject of winning, I will just say this. Anyone who tells you that winning is not the most important thing to them is likely a boldfaced liar and a hypocrite. EVERYONE who takes a field or court in any sport- players and coaches- wants to win and will do everything they can to try to win. No one wants to lose. Period. I realize that what I am saying probably isn't going to make me a very popular poster, but c'est la vie. I really do think that I am simply being truthful here.

On another topic, I agree wholeheartedly that West has been tremendous for Dorman baseball. I really hope West does have some accolades thrown his way- the guy deserves them. And I hope he can find a way to keep the momentum going into next season. In my opinion, humble and insignificant as it might be, there is no reason why Dorman shouldn't be able to field a baseball state title contender nearly every year- the resources are certainly there.

 

[COHAZE]

Everybody wants to win, but there is such a thing as winning with class. Not everybody shares your win AT ANY COST philosophy, only the guys that can't do it any other way. Not everybody is gonna screw the other guy to win. You do not have to solicit transfers to win. It's a sorry way to build a program. If kids want to transfer to Dorman it will be because of the success of the program, NOT because they solicit them.

And great coaches do not always "get great players." They develop them.

Originally posted by Bandit 5160:
..... take down the competition by ANY MEANS YOU CAN!....
.......you have to go for yours at the expense of everyone else!.....
.......And great coaches will always get great players! I hope Matthew West.....
........will make Dorman a school kids want to transfer into for baseball. After all, that is part of what it takes to be a consistent baseball power.....

 

[LeftyTosser]

cohaze, you are absolutely 100% correct. Winning coaches develop players along with developing young people for their futures. Over the years our teams have won far more than they have lost, hung a few championships and sported some rings. As a coach I am far more proud of the people they have become later in life than I am of any of our accomplishments on the field. Coaches that have the thought process of "Win at all cost" typically don't stay in one place long enough to develop anything except a bad reputation with players, fans and the community.

Bandit, I don't want to beat anyone up, but your thoughts are so against the reasons that most coaches do what we do. Coaches don't coach for the checks or the wins. We coach because we love sports and kids. Athletics can teach incredible life lessons that will help young people become great adults, great parents and future leaders. Coaches that last are members of a very special fraternity. After dealing with administrators, parents, the media and every knucklehead that thinks they know the game better than any coach, we actually support each other far more than we would ever tear one another down. Good coaches don't need to cheat or recruit to win.

 

[threefortheshow]

great post leftytosser. amen.

 

[Bandit 5160]

Lefty Tosser:

I appreciate your post very much and the respectable way in which you delivered it. It is nice to see some good conversation in here! And you sound like a professional coach who really does want the best for everyone you get to work with. Having never coached, I can really appreciate your perspective on things. Me, I am just a fan who wants to win and wants to see my school respected in the Upstate with the likes of Mauldin and Boiling Springs. I guess I really don't know how to do it in an honorable way though. That's why I am not a coach and never will be! But I will always be there as a fan, hoping for the best each and every game and season. Believe me, I'd much rather see Dorman succeed within the rules than otherwise. Sometimes I am just not sure if they can on any kind of consistent basis though.

 

[LeftyTosser]

Bandit, all if us have our rabid fans. We love having them at the field supporting the guys and gals that play their hearts out. The biggest thing that I ask all of our parents, fans and supporters is that they be positive in ALL comments towards players and coaches. Nothing bothers coaches more than hearing a comment directed towards a young person that is negative. If you want to give an umpire a hard time, I have no problem with it as long as it is done without personal reference. Telling an umpire that he is missing a good game is far different than telling him that he is as blind as his momma is ugly.
One thing that most fans do not realize is that no matter whether a team wins or loses, positive comments help build for the future. Every team has it rough times and will go through them one of two ways. They either learn from the rough times and build on what is learned OR they allow the rough times to fester and continue. Believe it or not, it is actually easier to learn and build than to allow the negative to continue. It is just a matter of teaching players, coaches and fans how to use what they say.
Here is a prime example from this past week. I watched two teams that are very comparable in ability level play a very tight ball game. On team A when a player would get a hit, move a runner or make a great defensive play, everyone in the dugout would go crazy cheering for their teammates. Fans were the same way, going nuts when something good happened. When things did not go right for team A, things got very quiet. The few comments that were heard got increasingly negative as the game went on. The busting on the officials became worse as the game went on. Team B played the same type of game with things going right some times and wrong other times, but whether a hit put a runner on or was just a strong hit at somebody, the teammates were out of the dugout keeping each other up and talking up strongly hit "at ems". The fans were the same way, keeping the players up.
By the time the game got to the 10th inning, the difference in the feeling of the two teams, dugouts and fans were completely different. Team A expected things to go wrong or against them. Team B knew they were capable of winning and expected to win. And they did.

With all of that being said, continue to cheer for your team LOUDLY. Every team needs it's supporters. Just please remember that both dugouts are filled with young people working hard and trying to enjoy a game that is teaching them things that they will use later in life as fathers, husbands and community leaders. Good luck to Dorman. The opportunity is there to create a great program and it will take support from both inside and outside the fences.