[Ang]

What do you think of the new MCHS Baseball coach? I'm just tickled that he finally took the reigns for this team. I tried talking him into it when Lenard retired, but he wasn't biting. I think he will do a fine job. From what I've seen of him, he has a very calm personality (although baseball tends to bring out the beast in some men)and I think he will do well leading the boys to more than 7 victories. Lord knows, they need it.
All of MC sports needs an overhaul, but with Bennie Edwards retiring and Greg Geyer taking over baseball, I think I can see new beginnings on the horizon.

[Southsider2k12]

The coaches coming into these programs have a lot of work to do. They not only have to teach the fundiemental of their respective games, but they are going to have to teach some life lessons as well. Athletically many of the schools that have spent the last 10 years or so kicking MC around, are not better than us. We have gifted athletes that go through this town, we just need to figure out how to harness them, and develop them, and most importantly keep them in the classrooms.

[Max Main]

I agree that one emphasis needs to be in keeping the kids in school and having them be more successful in academics. Are really poor students ever good school athletes?

[Southsider2k12]

I think lots of the same ethics and work habits that make you good on the playing field, will make you good in the classroom, and vice versa. Its a lesson our kids could really learn.

[Max Main]

amen

[Ang]

I agree that one emphasis needs to be in keeping the kids in school and having them be more successful in academics. Are really poor students ever good school athletes?

Having been the athletic secretary at MCHS, it was my responsibility to verify grades for eligibility. And YES, it is possible to be an excellent athlete and a very poor student. As a matter of fact, that is the problem that many coaches at MCHS face--Their teams are comprised of mediocre athletes because the good athletes are struggling with academics. It really amazed me at how bad some of these kids grades are, but the coaches work with them and provide them with many resources, including several tutoring programs in place, to keep their grades up and stay on the team. It doesn't always work with everybody though. Some of these kids just don't want to learn, they want to play though so they do just enough academically to get by.

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20..._adam/col-1.txt

Is Geyer a fresh start?

Well, I suppose he's at least saying all the right things.

No, I'm not talking about Dan Palombizio, who this week announced his intention to aggressively pursue the vacant Michigan City boys basketball head coach position. More on this story in the coming weeks.

I'm talking about Greg Geyer, who takes over a beleaguered City baseball program, becoming the team's third new coach in as many years. Counting this season, the Wolves have had four skippers in the last six years, after Phil Freese retired following 29 years on the job.

Oh yeah, and ever since 2002 (City's first and last sectional title) the wins and losses haven't been there, either. In the last three campaigns, City has been 20-63.

That's not a misprint, folks. It's been that bad.

Enter Geyer, a former collegiate baseball player with past head coaching experience.

That's more than can be said for the last two men to hold the job, Will Porter and Ryan Labis. For each of those two, City baseball was their first head coaching venture. Heck, Labis had only year of junior varsity experience.

Of course, the results in those two seasons was as expected. Losses piled up, many of the 10-run variety, and a lack of discipline - particularly in 2006 - caused players to leave the team and be unfocused for games.

It hasn't been pretty. Last year under Labis, things got so bad that Geyer got a startling response from a group of comment cards he handed out to his players at the beginning of practice.

Typical get-to-know-you questions were included. “Who's your favorite player?”

“What position do you most like to play?”

Et cetera, et cetera. But at the end, Geyer asked for “comments,” aimed to invoke freeform thought from the players. A couple players actually wrote, “This team needs discipline.”

You know it's bad when the players are begging to be disciplined.

The question now becomes, is Geyer the guy to get this thing moving in the right direction.

I don't know, and you won't get me to make a prediction. Not after last year, when I penned a column calling Labis one of the area's hot up-and-coming coaches. Oops.

But I do know that Geyer talks the right game. Of course, I thought Labis was, too. He ended up resigning after just one season.

However, Geyer would seem to have the right credentials. He's played the game at a pretty high level, coached it well during a couple of stops in the area, including Marquette, and he has a philosophy that seems to be conducive to winning high school baseball: Practice hard and see the results out on the field.

The best news for Geyer is that two of the players who left amid the chaos of last season, pitcher Kyle Federoff and slugger Jordan Hines, are in uniform this time around. That will certainly help.

If things go well, what Geyer can provide that's important as anything is stability. The baseball program clearly hasn't had much of that. Heck, this year's group of seniors have had a different coach in each of their four seasons. Talk about messing with a kid's head.

But Geyer assured me he's here for the long haul. I hope he's telling the truth, because the kids deserve to have someone credible teaching them the game.

It's wait-and-see time now, but pardon me for not simply accepting the new coach at his word.

We've heard it all before.

Have an idea for Home Cookin' or Parky's People? Contact Sports Editor Adam Parkhouse at aparkhouse@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 461.

[Max Main]

20-63 says it all.