Happy New Year!

I'm hoping to be able to put some words on these pages that will reflect the new 2011 trip through my baseball season as well as related aspects of my experiences with my own players on the Adrian College Baseball (I am the pitching coach) team, with kids I work with at camps and similar instructional venues, with parents of all athletes, and with my coaching peers.

I get inspiration from both of my kids.  Tess is a senior at Michigan State University and is an experienced writer with her own online blogs.  Eric is the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Hillsdale College.  Both of them provide enthusiasm for what they do and help me to feel as though I have some sort of relevance in the modern world in which they thrive each day.

I am also privileged to receive inspiration from special needs kids with whom I work on school days, kids of all ages I am fortunate enough to attempt to help them make their current athletic seasons more enjoyable, and of course my coaching colleagues, many of whom are my best friends and often remind me that I am some sort of piece of work!!

I have been lucky enough to have spent my entire adult life as a coach.  Early in my career (the early to mid 1980s) when I was a teacher I enjoyed coaching three different high school sports (football, basketball, and baseball/softball).  By the summer of 1987 I was named the Head Baseball Coach at Siena Heights College (now University) and became a full time coach, with other on campus responsibilities related to the athletic department.

Every January brings birth to a new baseball season, as pre-season practices are right around the corner.  Next weekend the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Convention will take place in Nashville and will provide new ideas, some new terminology, and enthusiasm to begin the 2011 season.  Speaking of the 2011 season, I believe it will be another banner year for the AC Bulldogs, but I will get into that later.

So again, I wish you all a Happy New Year and I hope that if I am lucky enough to have anybody reading this blog, that you can enjoy the ride along with me and root for my team and your own teams to achieve goals that have not yet been determined, and perhaps to overachieve and surpass pre-season expectations.