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Longevity common on area diamonds

Many prep baseball coaches have built impressive tenures, averaging more than nine years at their current schools.

In some ways, the life of a high school baseball coach is a tough one. They are landscapers and lawn mowers, weathermen and mathematicians (after all, figuring an ERA is calculus compared to coming up with a free-throw percentage).

For whatever the reason, however, baseball coaches in this area tend to be more Bobby Cox than Jack McKeon, sticking with one team year after year.

The numbers don't lie. The average tenure for the 19 coaches who lead the teams covered by the News-Sun is 9.1 years, compared to 7.2 for boys basketball and 5.2 for football. Go back 10 years, and the numbers are almost exactly the same.

Why is that?

Maybe baseball coaches don't feel the pressure of the more high-profile coaches in football and basketball.

"There's a lot more stress for wins and losses, I imagine, in basketball and football," said Southeastern baseball coach Rick Woods, now in his 20th season. "You'd be crazy not to think so. ... Financially, (football and basketball) are what support the athletic department. We don't make any money playing baseball."

Maybe there's less tendency to try to move to bigger programs.

"Baseball guys are a little different," said North coach Mark Stoll, who has spent the last 25 seasons as coach of the Panthers, or three less than Kenton Ridge's Tom Randall, the dean of area coaches. "In football, the turnover is such that guys go to different programs. Some try to move up. Some leave for other reasons."

Maybe the baseball tradition in this area makes coaches stay around longer. Or maybe it's just a coincidence that the same guys are in the same dugouts year after year.

"I just think the area schools have been fortunate in finding quality people," said Northwestern coach Brad Beals, who's in his 10th season.

BY THE NUMBERS

Not much has changed in 10 years according to these simple figures. This is far from a scientific study, but it is an interesting glance that shows the staying power of area high school baseball coaches.

2005-06

9, 4, 2 — Number of area coaches with at least nine consecutive years with their current school (baseball, football, boys basketball).

9.1, 7.2, 5.2 — Average tenure of area coaches (baseball, football, boys basketball).

1995-96

9, 4, 2 — Number of area coaches with at least nine consecutive years with their current school (baseball, football, boys basketball).

9.7, 6.8, 4.6 — Average tenure of area coaches (baseball, football, boys basketball).

— Compiled by David Jablonski

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