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Healthy strides for first-year 'Canes

By FRANK PASTOR
Published April 23, 2006

SHADY HILLS - Talk about starting from scratch. For the first two weeks of the season, Bishop McLaughlin practiced without gloves or bats.

It wasn't for want of resources, but lack of fundamentals.

Aware of his players' inexperience relative to their competition, coach Nick Rodriguez prepared the Hurricanes for their first varsity season by going back to basics. Exercise No. 1: fielding balls with bare hands to learn proper form.

"It was a little weird, but it definitely gave us something to build on," junior catcher Rob Gallagher said. "We needed a foundation for us so we could work our way up the rest of the season."

One year after it didn't win a junior varsity game, Bishop McLaughlin took a 4-11 record into Friday's contest against Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic. By beating Cedar Key twice, the Hurricanes earned the No. 5 seed in the Class A, District 7 tournament, which starts Monday at Hernando Christian Academy.

"Our young players have stepped up and played better than what I was expecting," Rodriguez said. "There are still freshman errors and sophomore errors. Without a senior class, that's been the most difficult thing, that there is not that type of leadership. But the boys have really played hard and worked hard."

Rodriguez, Tampa Prep's junior varsity coach the past five seasons, inherited a roster of 12 players, the most experienced of whom played Little League or Amateur Athletic Union ball.

He first taught the players to warm up, then progressed to properly gripping a ball, form fielding and knowing where to throw the ball. Aware that hitting would come along more slowly, he built an offense that bunts, hits-and-runs and slaps the ball to create movement on the bases.

Only two players had pitched before, so Rodriguez taught them to lift their leg, separate, focus on where they wanted to throw the ball and hit their location. He eliminated curveballs the first half of the season, and when walks became problematic, he took his pitchers out of their windups, starting instead from the set position.

He had one goal: improve every day.

"Our season this year is 103 days long if you go from Jan. 16 until the end," Rodriguez said. "One of my friends from Eckerd (College) makes a quote, "If we improve one percent every day, you're going to be successful at the end of the season.' "

About two weeks ago, Rodriguez invited his players to a game at Saint Leo, where they watched college players up close. The trip wasn't mandatory, but the team had perfect attendance.

"I thought it really showed team effort, and it just showed me what college players play like," sophomore second baseman James McCarragher said. "I watched my position and I saw what he did, and the skill level is a lot higher."

The next day, three players approached Rodriguez to ask if he had noticed how Saint Leo failed to advance runners by bunting back to the pitcher. Bishop McLaughlin used everything it learned to win two of its next three games.

Though they took their lumps the first time through the district schedule, the Hurricanes improved by at least five runs in subsequent meetings.

"We played Ocala Saint John's Lutheran the first time and it was horrible," junior infielder Brandon Marks said. "We just played a bad game, and then when we played them again we had them scared. We were with them most of the game, so it was just kind of good to see from the beginning of the season to the end how much better we've gotten."

The program's future appears bright.

With no seniors, every player will return next season. In addition, enrollment (around 150 for grades 9-11) is expected to nearly double next year. Subtract the 40 members of the junior class who will graduate in 2007 and add another 100 to 115, and competition for spots quickly will intensify.

"All of a sudden, I'm going to be competing," Rodriguez said, "and I'll be competing where I want to be competing."

[Last modified April 23, 2006, 00:50:21]