Coach Seen Here Sitting at His Desk Planning His Post-Game Locker Room Speech...
By mid-season, I had high hopes for this baseball team, fully expecting them to win at least two of their final five games and make it into the tournament.
Although my season ended weeks before, it felt like it ended all over again when I found out they lost their final game, four out of their last five, and didn’t make it into the tournament. I was disappointed. I knew they were better than that.
After their season came to an abrupt end there was no joy in Mudville, and that’s baseball. There's no clock to end the game, just three outs in the last inning. Everyone believes they have a chance to win until the final out. And when it's over, the fat lady sings, and in this case, the losing team goes home…
I would've loved to have been a fly on the wall and heard Coach's post-game locker room speech to end the season. But I imagine it wasn't much different than the ones he gave all season long. A lot of violent swearing and finger-pointing.
Not every team has promise. This team did, and I knew it as soon as captain’s practices began. They were already a cohesive team by the time I got involved. All they needed was a rudder to help them stay the course. Coach wanted to show them, and me, who was in charge, and he made several unpopular moves that chipped away at the team’s chemistry. He was a classic chemistry buster. I definitely blame him for their lack of success over the last five games.
Coach's baseball antics made me wonder how he was able to produce back-to-back Super Bowl champions. Then I remembered him telling me how he petitioned the MIAA to allow him entry into Mayflower Small to build his underperforming football program. He was allowed to compete with teams from smaller schools that had student populations between 500 and 700. Southeastern had a student population of 1,253 when I was there in school year 2005-2006. I had to write a paper comparing student population and its effect on vocational education for a required teacher course I took, so I was well aware of the numbers.
Many student-athletes at Southeastern were from Brockton, City of Champions, home of Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, and many successful high school teams. Many great athletes who played sports for Division 1 Brockton High School went on to receive athletic scholarships to top-tier colleges; some even went on to play pro ball.
Some of the football players at Southeastern told me that even their best players might not have gotten much playing time at Brockton High if they were lucky enough to make the team. Some kids went to Southeastern not only to learn a trade but also to play sports they otherwise may not have been good enough to play at Brockton High.
Coach pulled a fast one on the MIAA, petitioning them to put Southeastern in Mayflower Small. After going 4-0 in league games two years in a row and winning consecutive Super Bowls, the coaches in Mayflower Small petitioned the MIAA to put Southeastern back in Mayflower Large, where they belonged based on student population.
In his first year competing in Mayflower Large, Coach went 1-4 in league games and 5-6 overall. The following year, he improved to 2-3 league and 8-4 overall. But by the next year, 2008-'09, he posted an 0-6 league and a 2-9 overall and was removed from his coaching position by the school's new athletic director, who took the position for himself.
With everything that happened to me that first year, the dust-up with the other plumbing instructor, and the baseball debacle, I began looking elsewhere for another teaching position. A job opened up at Tri-County in Franklin, and I applied, interviewed, and got the job.
The plumbing shop at Southeastern used an ancient workbook from the late '60s, and Tri-County had a strong curriculum that, although it too needed updating, was far superior to Southeastern's. A friend of mine, a Director of Career and Technical Education at another vocational school in Massachusetts, told me that Tri-County was one of the top three vocational schools in the state and that I'd learn a lot about teaching there. A $15,000 raise wasn't too bad either, considering my wife and I had three school-aged boys to finish raising. I was only at Southeastern for a year, but it was already time for a change. I accepted the position
By late winter, the spring coaching jobs were being posted, and I put my name in the mix for a job coaching freshman baseball…
To be continued…
Turn and face the strangeCh-ch-changesPretty soon now you're gonna get olderTime may change meBut I can't trace timeI said that time may change meBut I can't trace time…