Caldwell County Post 29

you guys obviously know much more than i so i will defer it your infant wisdom

 

YES, it is about time someone is speaking out. I love the way when a kid strikes out or hits into a double play the coach turns his back on the kid instead of helping him figure out what is wrong. It is always the players fault never the coaches. They had Madison last year did they win, I don't think so it all goes back to the coaches ability to put the best players out there on the field and lead them like Bobby Dale. The excuse that this was a rebuilding year, give me a break this year they were deeper with pitchers than they have been in a long time. Poovey didn't play for the 29er's last year so why should him not playing this year make a difference.
Caldwell County has always supported the 29ers. We NEED a new COACH, someone who can coach these talented kids and win some State Titles. Not a coach that always makes excuses.

 

new coach?

if your looking for younger coaches how about Jason Harris of the 7th inning stretch? he moved his business to caldwell county. i guess he knows where the baseball dream is.

 

do you really think they dont teach hitting daily
we may need a new coach but nothing i have read on here is a reason for one

 

New Coaches for Post 29

Everyone is wanting the Legion coaches gone and others are posting in there defense, I will say this I am a high school coach not in Caldwell County, but I did coach this group of Young Men in there early years. Yes they had talent in Madison, Messer, Coffey, Poovey, Clawson, etc... But you go watch how Parham at South runs his practices, and then you go watch how the Legion coaches run practices, and you will clearly see how real coaches get the most out of there athletes and the ones who know how to teach the game. The current legion practices are a joke. Championships are built around COACHES, not figure heads, or politicans. Teams are only as good as there leaders. You don't get excellence by expecting it, you get it by demanding it.

 

Well said!

 

The easy role in all of life, but perhaps the least noble, is that of the critic. The critic usually has a motive and that motive is often not rooted in anything good.
Here is what Theodore Roosevelt said about the critic versus the man in the arena who has put it all on the line
. It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

I have been watching this thread for a few days and have been slow to respond as I gathered some facts.

There are 4 giant Legion programs in the Western Region of NC and they may be top 4 in the state. Of those the head coaches are Grayson at Shelby, Gant at Rowan, Reynolds at Cherryville, and Hamby at Caldwell.

Here are the accomplishment of each:

Shelby: ( under Grayson) Area 4 and State Champions 2001, Area 4 Runners-up 2002, SE Regional Runners-up 2002. 4 State Tournament appearances since the tournament began in 2000.

Rowan: (under Gant) 2002 Area 3 Champion and NC State Champion. 2003 Area 3 Champion. Area 3 Runners-up 2007. 4 State Tournament appearances.

Cherryville: (under Reynolds) Area 4 Champions 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2007. State Champions 1997, 1998, 2003, 2007. Regional tittles 1998 and 2003.
4 State Tournament appearances.

Caldwell (under Hamby) Area 4 Champions 1990, 1991, 2004, 2005, 2006. Area 4 Runners –up1999, 2000 and 2007. State Champions 1990, 1991, 2000. State Runners-up 2004 and 2006. Third place 2007. Regional Runners-up 1990.
5 State tournament appearances.

Hamby left Post 29 after 1991 and returned in 1999, while Reynolds left Post 100 after 1991 and returned in I believe 1996.

At 341 wins and 135 losses Hamby holds the edge in winning percentage of the 4 according to the records kept by Richard Walker at the Gaston Gazette.

These four men are at the helm of the most powerful Legion Baseball Programs in the state. Cherryville nor Caldwell won no major championships in the period while Hamby and Reynolds were gone from the head coaching job of their programs in the 1990’s. In Caldwell’s case from 1992-1998 they finished Runners-up in Area 4 once with no major championships

It is clear these men have done much to separate themselves from almost everybody else. They have lifted their programs far beyond the Taylorsville’s, Hickory’s, Gastonia’s, Burke’s, the Pineville’s and so on.

They have spoiled their fans into the belief that each year a State Championship should be won by them. When that’s impossible, but their teams are always more than in the hunt. That’s all you can ask.

Since some on this thread have attacked people not only in a mean spirit but also using an argument that hold no weight, let me say this about Caldwell.

2007 was one of the great coaching jobs for Post 29. Would South Caldwell have won the High School 4A title without Bumgarner? One would have to seriously doubt it.

But there was no Bumgarner this summer for Post 29 and they went up against veteran teams like Cherryville and Wayne County with the four strongmen of their pitching staff being Messer (a proven star), Severt (pitched one inning in high school), Berry (never pitched in high school) and Poarch (never had even pitched varsity high school). The coaches should be given a medal to get that far, because they had to develop these pitchers.

For instance, with Caldwell when their ace Messer ( a rising high school senior) took the mound against Cherryville it was most often against Chris Henderson ( a rising college sophomore) the Cherryville ace.

According to the Lenoir News Topic, if all return, Caldwell brings back 13 of the 18 on their roster this year. Cherryville and Wayne County were clearly more veteran teams and loose a lot of players.

Looking back on 2006. Bumgarner played all he could for Caldwell but only was able to pitch 7 innings in the State tournament which Caldwell lost in the championship to Moorehead City. Moorehead had Lonnie Chisenhall and Drew Paulk (their two top pitchers) able to throw over 20 innings each. Both of them pitching in the last two games against Caldwell. Bumgarner pitched 7 innings on the first day of the tournament and was unable to pitch again.

In 2004, Caldwell lost in the state championship game to Garner who was discovered later to have an illegal player who was the tournament MVP and winning pitcher in the title game.

My husband was a major league baseball scout and knows these men personally. He speaks very highly of the job these men do. Through his knowing them I got to know them and from the inside appreciate and applaud them as men and as coaches.

Their job is much harder than that of the critic.

 

Wow... I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to borrow some of your post on another thread

 

Baseballwidow, very classy and informative post. Welcome to TBR.

 

UUUHHHHHHH baseballwidow.....get some new coaches.