CENTERBURG — Centerburg assistant baseball coach Brad Beeler has patrolled the Trojans’ high school baseball dugout for 25 years.
“He even knows how to fix my arm,” said Centerburg third baseman Brody Cole.
What keeps Beeler returning year after year? Transforming from a demanding assistant baseball coach to a man fighting back tears of emotion, he said, “These kids” waving his arm toward the players waiting their turn to bat.
“You love them, sometimes you have to be tough on them. You teach them a little bit about life, but that creates a bond that lasts forever,” Beeler said.
As with any relationship, saying goodbye is the toughest part of the job.
“When they graduate, it is hard, it’s really hard when they graduate,” he said.
The retired air traffic controller said that keeping planes in the sky, safely on the ground and avoiding contact with other planes was good training for his avocation.
“There are a lot of similarities,” Beeler said. “There is a whole lot of nothing going on and then all of a sudden, it’s just crazy. In baseball, when you can you have to keep it under control.”
Holding up a small transmitter, Beeler talked about one of the biggest changes he has seen as a coach.
“As long as it is communication between the coach and catcher, we can use the walkie-talkie,” he said.
With that, he keyed the mic and spoke to his catcher.
“Fastball, inside corner, he’ll swing at it,” Beeler said.
The next pitch was, indeed, a fastball that hit in front of the plate.
“He won’t swing at it if it is 55 feet,” Beeler said, trying not to laugh. (The distance from the pitching rubber to home plate is 60 feet, six inches).
How does the coach decide which pitch will be the most effective in a given situation?
“Just experience. You look at where the batter is in the batter’s box. Away from the plate, close to the plate, Up in the box or back,” Beeler said. “A lot of it is how they have responded to certain pitches, and you want to keep them guessing, don’t become too predictable.”
Playing the same team back-to-back on different days, as opposed to the same day as in a double header, is another change Beeler addressed.
“When they changed the scheduling system last year, I kind of liked it. The best team has a better chance if you have one pitcher you do not have as good a chance. If a team has two good pitchers, it is to their advantage,” he noted.
Beeler began working under long-time coach Joe Smith, who was at the helm of the Trojan baseball program for 22 years, stepping down in 2021.
“He gave me the opportunity and we worked together, I’m glad he did,” Beeler said.
If there is one word that describes the Centerburg program, it is, family.
“We are family”, Beeler said. “I have nine grandkids and Coach Moss (head coach Josh Moss) agrees that if one of my grandkids is involved in something important, I will be there.”
Moss agreed with the family aspect of the team.
“He (Beeler) probably didn’t tell you this, but he has bought cleats and gloves for some of these players out of his own pocket,” Moss said.
The head coach believes that Beeler fills a critical role for the Trojans.
“Brad to me is more than just an assistant coach,” Moss said. “Over the past 11 years, he’s been a father figure, a mentor and a friend.
“Brad and I connected so well because for us it’s about more than baseball. It’s about learning/teaching life lessons through the game and giving back to the game.”
How long does Beeler plan to don the Trojan Red?
“I told an umpire years ago that I would probably die on a baseball field,” Beeler said.