A Coach Changing Lives

       A coach changing lives for the good. Coach Mike was a coach ready to help anyone. His life growing up shows why he got into coaching and how much he loves it. Coach Mike grew up in New Jersey, about 10 minutes from Atlantic City and 15 minutes from Ocean City. He lived with his parents and two sisters. Coach Mike went to college at Wingate University in North Carolina, where he met his wife, Kelly. He and his wife moved to Dillsburg Pa, to stay with Kelly's family. They had a daughter named Sammy, who started softball at 6 years old. Coaching his daughter's rec team, however, he started coaching when he was 12 years old. Coach Mike stated, "My father had surgery, and my sister was playing baseball, and she was struggling. So my dad couldn't take her down to the field and work with her, so that's where I started. I was teaching her, and that's where I fell in love with helping somebody get better. She made the all-star team that year." Coach Mike is still coaching to this day. Coach Mike and his family moved to Florida in 2020. They have since moved back to Dillsburg Pa. 

    Coach Mike was a coach for an 8U softball team. He made practice fun for everyone on the team. Even he enjoyed it and stated, "The biggest thing was watching the smiles on their faces." Coach Mike always put his girls first over everything else. He coached that group of girls into a travel team starting at 10U. Coaching that team helped every girl there and made them grow as girls. " I still see the reward every day. My favorite part is just watching the girls grow individually." Coach Mike cares about his players on a deeper level. After his family decided to move to Florida, his team had a new coach, and he stopped coaching softball teams. "Coaching, in my mind, is teaching. I've never stopped coaching." Coach Mike will always be coaching, no matter what. He and his family moved back to Dillsburg in 2023. Sammy and Coach Mike started teaching lessons for young girls. That way, he got to coach girls again with his daughter.

    The building where lessons are held is called The Yard. It's in an old building with a brand-new lock on the door. White walls on the outside and inside. Paint peeling from the walls, and grey paint underneath. It smells like an old building with a hint of sweat, but you can smell cologne coming from the guys. Everyone who goes in and uses the batting cages has their own password to the door lock. On your right, there are tables and chairs to sit at. When you first get in the building, it feels like an icebox. Slippery turf lining the 5 batting cages in the building. Two can be pulled back for pitching lanes. The first cage on your left contains lessons. In the background, you hear the ball smashing a glove. You hear balls dinging off the bats and ringing. Coach Mike dressed in his black sweats and Dillsburg Softball shirt. He always wears purple shirts with a Superman undershirt. Always wearing his backwards purple hat. Coach has his black turf shoes on and a bag on his back. Coach Mike went into the cage before the girl, and her parents showed up. He put the net up in the cage about halfway down the cage. He then got a tee and a bucket of balls. The girls showed up in her pink sweatpants and unicorn shirt. She plays 8u softball and is coming for a hitting lesson. He has her start with stretching and throwing. They headed right into hitting off the tee. The first drill was 3-2-1: hitting to contact 3 times, hitting to extension 2 times, and full swinging 1 time. Coach Mike watches her feet, making sure she is planting her foot and turning her back foot. 

" You have to turn your back foot like you are smushing a bug." Coach Mike stated. 

" Yes, coach," the young girl said, looking up at him and then looking back down at her foot. 

    Every fix or minor tweak, the answer is yes, coach. When they finish the drill, they hit two buckets of balls off the tee. She hits the ball, and a loud pop rings out. Listening to the bat hitting the ball, the sound tells you if the ball goes far or drops short.

 

Coach Mike asks, "Do you feel ready to hit front toss?"

 "I love front toss, coach," the young girl replies with enthusiasm

 They clean up all the balls and get ready for front toss. She puts on her pink helmet, and they start. She's hitting the ball hard and puts all her strength into it.

 " Make sure you are planting the front foot and keeping your weight back, or you will start to fall over yourself." Coach Mike says in a stern voice.

 "Why do I keep my weight back?" The young girl questions

 "So you can keep power to hit and not fall forward while hitting," Mike says with understanding, and explains it in a way she can understand.

Coach Mike explains these moments differently depending on the player. She finishes her last bucket, and they are getting ready to end. 

"Do you want another one? Do you feel confident in the last ball?" Coach asks with compassion.

 "One more, please," the young girl says, upset.

 "Yep, let me know when you feel confident in your last swing." Coach Mike says prepared to throw as many balls as he has to.

She hits five more balls before she feels good with herself. He ends by going over the main drills and telling her how great she did in the lesson.

 "Do well in school, see you next week, kiddo." Coach states with confidence that she will be okay.

 "Thank you, Coach, see you next week," the young girl states, excited for next week.

 She then leaves, and Coach Mike waits for the next girl to show up. As he sits there waiting for the next lesson, he starts planning. Overall, Coach Mike is a coach everyone needs in their life. He cares about how you do in the sport, but also how you are doing as a person and a student.