This month we depart from
the norm a bit to tell about a father/son coaching duo. Both are volunteers within
the Harrison baseball system; the father,
Charlie Causey, is an assistant on the Varsity team. Son Ryan is the head coach
of the Harrison Cub team, which is comprised of 7th and 8th
graders from Harrison’s feeder schools.
Dwayne Causey, Ryan’s older brother, is also into
coaching as Ryan’s assistant on the Cub team.
I asked Charlie and Ryan the same questions while the
other was out of earshot:
Charlie Causey
GT: What motivates you as a coach?
CC: I try to motivate the
kids, keep ‘em out of trouble. I got involved [in coaching] when my kids got
old enough to play, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have Coach Rice (Andrew,
Harrison’s Varsity skipper) have me be part of the team.
What is the most important thing you want the kids to
learn?
To respect the other players
and other people. Try to have the right attitude. Most of them won’t play ball
all their life, so they need to get their education.
What does baseball teach a young person about life?
If they get the right
attitude, it can teach them a lot. I spent 21 years in the Army, and I’ll have
fun with ‘em and say, ‘This is what we did in the Army; you don’t want to do
this…’
What’s been your most proud moment as a coach?
Back in 2000, when we went
to the State Final Championship Game. I wish we would’ve won, but that was the
first time the school had ever been there. It’s just something you dream of as
a little kid. I was able to be there as a coach, and I loved every minute of
it.
Who would you rather have on your team: A
super-talented kid who’s a little difficult, or an average player who’ll do
anything you ask?
The average player. [The
really talented player] can bring the whole team down.
Who do you personally admire most as a fellow coach?
Coach Andy Rice. He’s taught
me a lot. He played at Memorial, then he went down to Murray State
and played and then he got drafted by the Houston Astros. He’s been at Harrison for 19 years.
Charlie
Causey (L) and son Ryan. Both are
coaches within the Harrison
High School
baseball
family.
Ryan Causey
GT: What motivates you as a coach?
Helping out the kids. My job
is to get them ready for the high school level. They’re not playing on a little
Pony field anymore; they’re playing on regular high school field. So when they
get up to Freshman or Reserve ball, they’ll know what to do.
What is the most important thing you want the kids to
learn?
To have fun. It doesn’t have
to be serious. You can only control what you can control; you can control your
attitude – if you get thrown out, you get thrown out. If you didn’t hustle, you
can control that.
What does baseball teach a young person about life?
Patience. It’s a game of
patience. You’ve got to wait for that pitcher; you’ve got to identify stuff. In
the outfield, you might be out there for five minutes; you might be out there
for 20 minutes.
What’s been your most proud moment as a coach?
In ’08, we won it all. We
didn’t start out good, but we came back and we won the Cub Championship my
first year coaching – it’s not all me – it’s the kids.
Who would you rather have on your team: A
super-talented kid who’s a little difficult, or an average player who’ll do
anything you ask?
The average player. The kid
that knows everything is already gonna be a pain in the butt and won’t want to
be coached. The other kid, you can coach.
Who do you personally admire most as a fellow coach?
The coaches out here like
Coach Rice and my dad. When we got here [at the Harrison Baseball Fields], it
was nothing, and we’ve done a lot of work. They’ve done a lot of work. I enjoy
watching them too [the other coaches].
Have a favorite coach you’d like to see
featured in the Coaches Corner? Send an email to editor@goteammagazine.com or events@goteammagazine.com
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PHOTO CREDIT | DYLAN GIBBS