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Lessons learned over the summer
Jeremy McCreary could see the play develop in his mind, even before its genesis. His mind immediately flashed back to a similar occurrence during a playoff game that he played in during his senior year as a member of the Quincy High School baseball team.
In the bottom of the fifth inning of the Quincy Thunder's game against Othello last Tuesday in the Quincy Wood Bat Tournament, the home team was trailing 6-5. McCreary, the Thunder coach, knew that the end of the game was near due to darkness. Cole Stanley stood on third base, the tying run, with one out. A Quincy batter swung and hit a towering pop-up that floated near the Quincy dugout.
It would be an easy play for Othello to make, but McCreary noticed that not one, not two, but three Othello players were converging near the dugout to make the catch - the pitcher, catcher and third baseman.
Of course, that meant that nobody was covering home plate.
We can score this run, McCreary thought to himself just before barking to Stanely, "Run, Cole, run!"
Dutifully, Stanley tagged up and started chugging toward home as the ball was caught.
McCreary, standing in his third base coaching box, became worried. "I thought I was going to get Cole hosed," he said.
But Stanley, a good athlete with speed, was able to slide home in front of the tag with the tying run. His teammates burst out of the dugout, whooping and cheering, congratulating Stanley.
What satisfied McCreary the most about that scene wasn't so much that his team scored the tying run (indeed, the game ended in a 6-6 tie), but that his team finally started to show genuine vivacity.
"I was impressed," McCreary told Jack Tracks. "We have a bunch of quiet kids, and they usually don't show any emotion at all. That was the first time they've showed any emotion. That was one of the main goals this summer. I was getting on guys for wanting to win. I want them to compete. I want them to show emotion."
The Thunder posted one win, one tie and two losses in the summer season-ending four-team tournament that also included defending state 1A champion Cashmere and Ferndale. The Thunder played 24 games over the course of the last six weeks or so, winning seven.
But of course, summer ball really isn't about wins and losses. Most of the time McCreary's biggest challenge was getting enough kids out to play a game. For a large number of the team's contests, McCreary was forced to use graduated seniors and/or players from other towns to round out the roster, which was bereft of a number of Quincy players who couldn't play due to other commitments.
"One of the main goals for summer ball is to get your lineup set for next spring, see what your pieces are," he said. "We probably didn't accomplish that."
But McCreary did the best job he could, and was able to draw a couple of positive elements out of the experience. Probably the best thing that came out of the summer was the development of a group of incoming freshmen that have showed great promise, including pitcher Dallas Bassett, who might be the most exciting pitching prospect that the program has seen in several years.
"We did get a lot of younger guys some experience, even though they took their whoopings," McCreary said.
Last spring, the Jackrabbits went 8-10 in the Central Washington Athletic Conference and advanced to the district tournament. McCreary entered the summer, his second as coach, with a set plan for helping the team break into the conference's top tier.
"We stressed setting goals," he said. "And teamwork. Like, for example, when you're giving up on a play, you're not just giving up on yourself. You're giving up on the whole team. These guys didn't really have a concept of team. We want them to learn how to be a part of a team and learn how to accomplish goals. I had them hand-write goals down; I still have them. We'll follow them all year. They have to learn how to set goals, but more importantly, realistic goals."
McCreary has a few ideas for increasing participation for next summer. His most ambitious endeavor involves taking the team to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., next June. That trip will, in theory, serve three purposes: expose the kids to high-level baseball; build comradeship; and gaining on-field experience.
"I figure we could stop in a place like Billings, Mont., play a doubleheader, camp out for the night, get up, play another doubleheader in the morning, then hit the road," he said. "Then we could play in a tournament or two in Nebraska when we get there. They'll hopefully get camaraderie, learn the game a little more and develop a love for it."
Instead of building a schedule around doubleheaders, McCreary wants his team to play a slate of almost entirely tournament games next summer. He's talked to other coaches who've told him that might be the way to go. "The Ferndale coach was telling me that his players like to get away (from home)," he said. "They schedule things that way because they'll know they'll get the players to come out. Almost every weekend they'll play in a tournament, and for those kids with summer jobs, they know which weekends they'll be away."
Also, he might explore the idea of taking his players to camps to help develop their fundamental skills.
"I don't think we'll participate in the league with the local teams," he said. "We need more excitement. We needs kids fired up to be there."
Contact Doug Flanagan at reporter@qvpr.com or through Facebook:
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