Logan Baseball

[Littlechiefs]

Thank you moonshine. Again it is nice to see support out there. Heard today that only 2 of the 4 coaches that were with the high school team have committed to coming back next season. The head coach and the assistant coach that is taking the younger kids to Lancaster. A strong youth program is very important of course, but it would be nice to see a stable coaching staff at the high school level also. It seems like it has been a revolving door for the last few years. Obviously if a coach isn't winning you have to look for change but with where this program is you have to give them a few years. Probably until some of these 9-10 year olds get there. Of course there still HAS to be a change in our youth leagues or it will continue to be more of the same. I am hearing there are some pretty good ball players in the middle school right now that will be their in a couple of years. Most people don't realize the commitment it takes coaching at that level. The two returning coaches are not a part of the school system so they have to change work schedules around for months just to do it. The fact they they are the only two who are committed to coming back shows me they are dedicated. May have to go down and check out that practice tonight.

[Littlechiefs]

Caught some of the practice on Thur. Lots of infield and infield situations. Really hitting the ball at the boys no easy grounders. Like how these coaches really make the kids think about what is going on. Critical when they need to be but in a positive way. These boys need a lot of work but they are getting exposed to exactly what they need to improve. Might be a rough go for them but I think it will pay off for them in the long run. Best of luck to tem.

[bulldogchief]

It would be nice if Logan would do something that is affiliated with the official Little League Baseball. When I was growing up, each elementary school had there own team (didn't grow up in Logan). Each school in the county was in the league, an all star team was chosen at the end of the season, and the all star team competed in the district/state/regional/national (rarely did we make it out of the district). The kids that do not make their school team then played in the rec league.

[noreply66]

I loved the teams of the 60s--seen some great pitching then plus power hitting and great fielding.

[moonshine]

I loved the teams of the 60s--seen some great pitching then plus power hitting and great fielding.

Some early and mid 70's teams under Kelly Stiwell and George Hummel and Howard Bozman!

[javagt]

I loved the teams of the 60s--seen some great pitching then plus power hitting and great fielding.

Possibly the best high school baseball game I ever saw was in 1965.. Logan vs Jackson for the SEOAL championship. Logan won, I believe 4 -2. Dan Crothers of Jackson hit a monster 2 run home run that bounced off the Vo Ag building at the hilltop. Steve Mowery pitched a great game for Logan. Logan hit 3 triples and double in one inning.. John Gasser chased down numerous fly balls to center field.....

[noreply66]

I loved the teams of the 60s--seen some great pitching then plus power hitting and great fielding.

Possibly the best high school baseball game I ever saw was in 1965.. Logan vs Jackson for the SEOAL championship. Logan won, I believe 4 -2. Dan Crothers of Jackson hit a monster 2 run home run that bounced off the Vo Ag building at the hilltop. Steve Mowery pitched a great game for Logan. Logan hit 3 triples and double in one inning.. John Gasser chased down numerous fly balls to center field.....

Same here---javagt--wasn't Mike Nixon playing right field that day?
That home run had to be one of the highest balls I've seen hit too.
The longest one I saw hit at the Hill top was from BJ King.

[Littlechiefs]

Boys start Fall Ball in Lancaster Tuesday evening. Best of luck. Heard Coach B. is out as Varsity baseball coach. Bo Janey taking over again. Anyone else heard this rumor? Not sure if it is true or not but heard it from a reliable source who knows the coach. Guess the revolving door policy will continue for the baseball program.

[moonshine]

Boys start Fall Ball in Lancaster Tuesday evening. Best of luck. Heard Coach B. is out as Varsity baseball coach. Bo Janey taking over again. Anyone else heard this rumor? Not sure if it is true or not but heard it from a reliable source who knows the coach. Guess the revolving door policy will continue for the baseball program.

Thats a problem.

[Littlechiefs]

Takes years to build a program. The foundation has to be first but if new coaches are brought in every year or so that won't happen. Same coach and staff means kids are familiar with what is expected of them and they get comfortable with the system in place. Every coach is different in approaches to pitching, hitting, defense and base running. Just like football. If you bring in a new offensive system every year you can't expect a quarterback to be very successful. Baseball is the same. If this is true all of the returning players will be getting used to a new philosophy and approach. Until the powers that be will allow a coach and staff to stay intact for several years it is just going to be more of the same. If I remember correctly Janey was not very successful in his first stint as head coach. Maybe he learned from past mistakes. Lets hope so. If this is true all I can do is wish them luck. Things have to turn around eventually.

[moonshine]

Takes years to build a program. The foundation has to be first but if new coaches are brought in every year or so that won't happen. Same coach and staff means kids are familiar with what is expected of them and they get comfortable with the system in place. Every coach is different in approaches to pitching, hitting, defense and base running. Just like football. If you bring in a new offensive system every year you can't expect a quarterback to be very successful. Baseball is the same. If this is true all of the returning players will be getting used to a new philosophy and approach. Until the powers that be will allow a coach and staff to stay intact for several years it is just going to be more of the same. If I remember correctly Janey was not very successful in his first stint as head coach. Maybe he learned from past mistakes. Lets hope so. If this is true all I can do is wish them luck. Things have to turn around eventually.

You hit it on the head, you need to give a coach at least 2-4 years to start to develop their program. That's in any sport! With our program it must start with a good youth program. Until then you can have all the coaching talant and players in the world but a winning season will not happen!

[Littlechiefs]

Hate to say it but our rec baseball program cripples this towns ability to develop a good feeder program. No need to go over it all again, we all know the reasons why. We need more coaches from all levels to take these kids elsewhere to play. Nothing will change until they are forced to realize it. There needs to be a push for things to change. There is enough support to do it. I wonder how hard it would be to form a little league. Where would they play? The only fields available are at the park and in order to use them they would have to pay so the rec league would still be involved. Need more coaches to take kids to Lancaster, Nelsonville, or Athens to play quality baseball. What a shame things are the way they are.

[Littlechiefs]

Youngsters picked up their first win in Fall Ball in Lancaster 7-3. They are 1-2 so far. Dropped the first two games 7-3 and 12-6. From what I've been told they have been in every game so far. First game was back and forth as well as the second game. One bad inning did them in both times. Played solid in the third game and never looked back. They have had great support so far from family and friends. Upwards of 50-60 people at every game so far just from Logan. Some of the organizers from Lancaster told one of the parents that Logan has brought the largest crowds so far. Keep it up folks. Lots of people talking and taking notice of this. Guess the coach has already been offered a sponsorship from someone in Logan to go up and play in Lancasters summer league next year. That is the kind of support that the kids need. Hope this is the start of a new trend for baseball in Logan.

[Littlechiefs]

It is something to consider doing Logangrad. The coach for the fall ball team had more kids wanting to play than he could take. I've been told there have been a lot of kids and parents that are interested in playing more baseball but don't have the opportunity to do it because it's not offered here in town. With the cost of gas and the other expenses it can be tough for some but they are out there. It is possible to turn things around but it will have to be done by people like you and this coach as well as others. Logan rec baseball is a dead item. If more coaches and players go to other leagues and play travel ball it will probably disappear altogether. That is a shame but the reality is they will not change at the rec board so it has to be done another way. Maybe you should contact this coach and see what he has to say.

[javagt]

I agree with the above posts. But why can't the rec baseball program be changed? When I lived
in Logan years ago, the City rec program was ran by a committee appointed by city officials.. (City Council,
I believe) . Lean on them, complain! Vote them out of office, and tell them why..

[Littlechiefs]

I know that several people have tried in the past. The biggest problem is the rec program doesn't believe that there is anything wrong with the way it is. I have talked to several people who have gone to meetings to try and encourage change and are flat out told no. I was standing there when one official told a coach that the rec program plays just as many games as the surrounding areas. That the problem was that not many of the coaches focus on fundamentals. He said all of this with a straight face. Logan's program is no where near what Athens or Lancaster or Nelsonville have. Not even close. They truly believe that there is no problem. These kids can be as fundamentally sound as possible but with only 10 games a year it still wouldn't work. Baseball is all about reps. The more at bats you get the better a hitter you will become. Same with pitching and fielding. It's all about experience and our kids don't get the experience that other kids get because they don't get the amount of games. I was told there were over 300 less sign ups for rec league baseball this year from last year across the board in ages. That's not good. The one official said in that same conversation that there isn't enough interest in baseball to play more and it would cut into fall soccer. I know several parents who's kids would play more baseball over fall soccer because they played in the spring. I agree that these officials need to be leaned on or voted out. We need more letters in the paper, complaints at meetings, everything. It can be done but it will take a concentrated effort by a large group to do it. They are out there and from what I have heard there is a lot more talking going on then ever before. I hope that the push for change continues but as I said before it is going to take more coaches taking their teams elsewhere so the kids get experience for now. Heard the coach taking the kids to Lancaster has a huge target on his back right now. Why? What is he doing that is so wrong? Why take it personal? He is just going where they can continue to play.

[moonshine]

Any update on our boys playing in Lancaster?

[Littlechiefs]

They won last week 12-3. Been rained out for most of the last two weeks something like 7 times. Overall they are 2-4 and still have six games to go. From what one of the parents told me they probably won't get all of their games in. Weather has really been bad the last couple of weeks for them. I have spoken to a couple of parents and they all told me that the kids have greatly improved. They have been competitive in every game. The worst loss they had was by six runs and that was after spotting that team a 4 run lead in the first inning. Same team they turned around and beat convincingly last week. Same parent told me one of the opposing coaches was shocked to see the kids doing infield shifts in situations. Coach yells out a number for the play and everyone is moving. Had no outs with bases loaded so he pulled his infield in for a force at home. Opposing coach told his hitters to hit it as hard as they could if they are going to play that close. First kid was trying to kill the ball so he struck out. Second kid hit back to pitcher for force at home. Moved his infield back with two outs and got the force at second. The great thing is the kid's are learning to play smart and it's paying off for them. Parents really like the Coach because he's actually teaching them baseball. Still planning to go to Lancaster next year and play in there league and hit some tournaments. Try to get around 50 games next year. Guess they are looking at COYBL the year after that but they need a home field to play on and not sure if Rec Dept. will let them do that. Guess the coach has told the parents that they are not ready for COYBL yet but a solid year in Lancaster's league, a few tournaments and another year of fall ball and they will decide then. I think it's a good approach to take. Let the kids grow and learn together, get some wins and confidence under there belts and go from there. They know they can't compete with alot of these teams you see in tournaments due to lack of experience. No sense in going out and getting killed just to say you played against some of the best. Wait until you actually can. Two years from now these kids will only be 11-12. They have plenty of time. They will send this group of kids to the high school with around 250-300 games worth of experience and a high level of experience at that. Now we need more coaches that are willing to step out of Logan and get these kids some real baseball experience. I have a feeling this coach is going to have to turn away kids once word gets out and that's a shame. A lot of good kids will be stuck in Rec ball just because no one else is willing to go play elsewhere. But at least some of them are being given a chance. Have alot more info on these guys but will have to save that for later.

[noreply66]

nice reading--Littlechiefs