Repeat? Baseball Looks for 15th Championship

Rishad Ragland

Clank!! The sound of the bat after a line drive hit from Coach Crandall during infield drills. “Get your butt down! Everyone 10 push-ups” is what you hear after the ball rolls past third base. Even if it isn't clear to all the players on the team there is a masterpiece behind the madness of Crandall’s baseball philosophy. As Coach Crandall builds up his team, it's ultimately to continue the East tradition of excellence, as they have won 9 of the last 14 city championships.

Many agree that Coach Crandall has successful coaching practices. Coach Crandall said, “Coaches look to find drills and strategies that will help to make their players and teams successful.  However, the true measure of success on a team occurs when every player buys into the philosophies of the team.  Over the years some teams do that more than others.  When players begin to play hard for their teammates and the program instead of just themselves then you will usually see a team with average athletes outperform a team with superstars.  Player buy-in is essential for a team to be successful.”

Coach Crandall also had a lot to say about the team’s success over the years.  He stated, “Over the years I have coached many different types of players and personalities. I have found that the vast majority of kids want structure and discipline.  I do my best to take the needs of players into consideration while also setting high expectations.  The only way that players truly buy in is when they see that all players are treated the same.  Therefore, I have always tried my best to treat the star athlete the same way that I do players who get less playing time during games.”
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Coach Crandall has a very specific coaching philosophy and not only does he know the right balance between coaching and team discipline, his ability to bring a team together -- whether star-studded or average players -- and get them to compete hard is no small feat. Crandall once again will try to continue his streak of making the city championships once again. GO EAST!!