Emma Johnson
Period 3 HVCC Journalism
10.23.16
A Saturday night in mid- October is usually engulfed with either college football or Major League baseball. October is the biggest time in baseball, it’s the playoffs. I found time between the hoots and hollers of the games to sit down with college freshman and little league baseball coach Eric Beberwyk. I was interested in finding out how at a young age he got into the world of coaching.
Q. How long have you been playing baseball?
- “15 years i’ve been playing, I started when I was 3.”
Q. What got you interested in baseball?
- “I would say probably my parents. Not that the forced me to play but they “forced me to play” and I learned to love the game!”
Q. What do you think got you interested in coaching?
- “I wanted to go back to the league that I had played in and I wanted to give back to them. I want to help get the league back to the way it was when I was playing there.”
Q. When did you decide that you wanted to coach?
- “It was after I went to an indoor practice that my little cousin had for his travel team. They asked me to help out and it’s then that I realized that I loved coaching the kids and helping them learn the game that I love. I feel like it’s just a great thing to do.”
Q. What’s it like coaching in the same league that you once played in?
- “ I would say it’s harder yet easier if that makes sense. I have high hopes for the kids in the league because of the memories and experiences I have from playing there. I feel that it helps me relate to the kids a little more because not long ago I was in the same position as them. I know what it’s like, I wore the same jerseys as them and I played on the same field as them.”
Q. What differences do you see in the league now as a coach versus when you played?
- (sad sigh) “When I played there was so many more kids. I think we had nearly double back when I was there. We had I believe 8 teams in minors this past year but when I played we had around 18 teams. I also noticed that the kids are a lot less interested in actually playing the game, Especially in the All Star season. The kids don’t seem to care about winning in the league or wanting to beat our rivals. I think that there’s a lot less interest in the league overall.”
Q. Do you think that kids nowadays understand what rivalries are and who they are with?
- “No not at all! It has totally phased out.”
Q. What age group did you decide to start your coaching career with and why?
- “It’s called the Minors level but the kids are 9 & 10 years old. And in my eyes I thought that it would be the best place for me to start because younger kids are much harder to coach I believe. They are just worse at baseball overall it seems like. They seem to listen less and it’s hard to improve children’s skills when they aren’t capable of listening to what you are trying to teach them. I could have chosen the older 11 & 12 age groups but I felt that they would be too close to my age (17) almost, and it might have been hard for them to understand the line between friend and coach sometimes.”
Q. What is the thing you enjoy most about coaching the minors age group?
- “I like how easy they are to deal with! I feel that they’re at the point in their life and baseball career where they’re starting to really understand how the play the game the right way. You can tell which kids really want to be there and want to do well starting at that age. Their attitudes begin to disappear which is a great thing. They stop having these fits of rage, and passion, and every other kind of fit that a small kid can have on the field during the middle of an inning. I like how I don’t have to yell as much to get them to listen to what I am asking them to do, I can have more fun with them while being productive instead of constantly having to corral them and discipline.”
Q. What’s the hardest thing about dealing with that age group?
- “It’s not specifically the kids or their age it’s their parents. Almost all the parents think they know how to coach and that they can do a better job. They just think that their kid should play every second of every game even though there is a rule that prevents that from happening. It’s by far the hardest thing about working with kids not just that age group. “
Q. Do you think it was difficult to get yourself into coaching? What steps did you have to take to get there?
- “So I made it harder in my head than it actually was to get into it. I just showed up to a meeting and said that I was interested in a team at the minor's age level, and since no one else wanted it they gave it to me! After that I just had to show up at the tryouts and then select my team. And I was off and running from that point on.”
Q. Do you think that the league is set up well and that the tryouts were run well?
- “They were poorly run. The kids got 3 fly balls, 5 pitches, and 3 ground balls, and that was it. It didn’t give you the opportunity to figure out which kids could actually play. You had to know the kids prior to the try out and as a new coach not really knowing these kids I don’t think it gave me a fair evaluation.”
Q. What was your Title for last year? What positions did you hold?
- “I was the “Manager” of the Rensselaer County Sheriff Pat Russo Minor league for the regular season little league and I was the Manager of the 9&10 “B” All Stars team.”
Q. What responsibilities did you have as a manager?
- “I handle all the behind the scenes stuff that is required to allow a team to play as well as being a head coach. I deal with all the parents, I deal with the board and the president of the league, other board members, other coaches in the league, and I still coach. I coach 3rd base most of the time and sometimes have to keep book. After the games I have to make sure all the official scores are submitted as well as all the pitch counts, innings kids played, and make sure the other coach signs off that he agrees. I got really good at sending out team texts and emails too!.”
Q. What is the most memorable experience you have had as a coach?
- “That’s tough, but I would probably have to say when we beat the one team that everyone in the entire league did not like. Watching my kids just play so much better than them was such a good and exciting feeling.”
Q. What about the worst experience you have had?
- “Definitely when a parent emailed me an entire line up that they had made for a regular season game. We ended up winning that game by 15 runs.”
Q. Did you use that line up?
- “Oh no! I sat their kid for the first two innings and proceeded to not play him in any of the positions that they had told me to put him in. And we won the game by 15 runs without any of their help.”
Q. How many seasons have you coached?
- “It has been 1 year but I coached two teams in two different seasons. I was coaching in the Spring and Summer seasons of 2016.”
Q. What is the most rewarding feeling you get from being a coach?
- “Getting the kids to learn one thing every time that they step on the field. If they can tell me every time that they leave that they have learned something new that day then I feel like I’m doing my job and it’s such a great feeling to have.”
Q. What about the hardest thing to do as a coach?
- “Getting them to learn that one thing every time. Getting them to understand and want to play pitch and catch in their free time is a hard thing to do, especially now knowing most of them don’t really care.”
Q. What has coaching taught you that playing has not?
- “It’s changed my personal view of the game, I had to stop worrying about my personal stats and my competitiveness and make sure I had my full focus on the success of the kids. I still want to win! That is for sure, but I have to worry about them wanting to win. It’s about their records now not mine and that has been sort of a tough transition.”
Q. Do you believe that coaching will be in your future?
- “I want to start my own summer baseball program and we’re going to be the best team in New York State!.”
Q. Is there anything you regret about coaching or how you went about getting to coach?
- “I’ve given up the ability to play 4 more years at the collegiate level at the college i’m attending, but I really don’t regret that because I love to coach. I know in my heart that as much as I aspire to play in the MLB it’s just not realistic, so I prefer to begin my coaching career and start to develop my future. I think that the relationship that I have built with the kids has really helped me to love coaching as much as I do, and I wouldn’t want to walk away from them and send them off on their own without me. I like being their coach and being the one to help them develop as players. I also give up almost almost all of my weekends and lot of nights that I spend at the field but I wouldn’t trade those hours for anything.”
Q. What has coaching taught you?
- “I can’t be so personally competitive as a coach like I was as a player. I have to look at the game from a different perspective, now it’s about creating that competitive drive in the kids instead of focusing on my ego.”
Q. Do you feel that you connect better with some of the kids because you played the same positions as them?
- “At the travel level I think that I connect with the high level players more so because I see more of myself in them skill and ability wise. Also it’s easier for me to coach them because they can perform and I can begin to teach them more advanced skills in the outfield. That does not mean I don’t work with the lesser plays though!”
Q. How do you handle losing and how do you teach the kids how to handle it?
- “I handle it in two very different ways. When I’m playing I don’t take it too well. I’m not the type to throw my equipment like a hot head or yell and cuss after a loss. I am the type to take it to heart and find what I did wrong to not help the team, I blame myself. But when I coach I have to teach the boys not to blame themselves even though it is what I do. At that young age they can’t blame themselves and get discouraged, I have to teach them that there was other kids on the field that could have done something else to help the team win. I remind them constantly that we are a team, we win as a team and lose as a team. And to remain humble no matter if they win or if they do lose.”
Q. What is the most irritating part of the game?
- “When someone makes a mental mistake. A physical mistake is going to happen but mental mistakes shouldn’t, I feel that if you have your head in the game and you’re paying attention then they should not happen. From a coach’s standpoint it’s the parents. They always have an opinion on how I should be handling my team and I just respond with If you can do a better job then why aren’t you coaching?“
Q. What is your favorite thing about the game?
- “The lessons that it teaches you from such a young age. Some of the best hitters only get on base three out of ten times, it’s a game riddled with failure. I think it’s a great game because it teaches kids that you’re not going to succeed the first time but don’t give up because if you work hard enough you will end up at the top.”
Q. What coach do you model your coaching style after?
- “My Upstate Gamers coach who I played for since I was 14 until I was 16. He told me that he saw a lot of himself in me and that he thought I would be a great coach one day. I guess I just started coaching way sooner than he thought. I liked his aggressive style of coaching, he always wanted to push the envelope and force the other team to make the plays. He taught me to not sit back and wait, you have to go and just do it. If you want it, then go and take it.”
2016 Rensselaer County Sheriff Pat Russo Twin Town Regular Season Minor League Team
(Back Center) Manager/ Head Coach Eric Beberwyk
