New Baseball Coach

Gables alum Antonio Rodriguez returns as head coach to pass on his skills to a new generation of baseball players

BY VALENTINA ARAUJO, STAFF WRITER

FULFILLING ONE OF HIS greatest dreams, former Gables student and baseball player Antonio Rodriguez has come back as the new head coach of the baseball team. Despite having only recently taken the position, he has been coaching for the past seven years, spending the frst year as an assistant coach at Archbishop McCarthy and the following six years as the head coach at iMater Academy. He is eager to share his expertise with the next generation.

“Being able to have the opportunity to be the head coach of my alma-mater is everything to me,” Rodriguez said. “I want the team to grow as a family.”

After being recommended by Phil Wisser and Alex Tamargo, his former assistant coaches from his previous coaching position, Rodriguez, who already had seventeen years of experience playing baseball, was ready to take over as the team’s new baseball coach as the old head coach Jesse Fernandez said goodbye to the team. Rodriguez brought along three additional assistant coaches, Chris Mederos, Tanner Mann and Alex Torres as batting, pitching and felding coaches. This is in order to help each player and give them the attention they need to improve each and every practice.

Although the team had already grown close to Fernandez, they were ready to recognize the new coach’s potential for success and his disposition to help the team improve. Rodriguez has already demonstrated his willingness to build new connections guys are my brothers, my family.” with the players and commit his time to helping them succeed on the baseball feld. He made sure that his players knew he cared about their personal lives and problems and that they could turn to him for anything, being more than just a coach to his players.

Each practice begins with a different plan or focus. Rodriguez believes that everyone has a responsibility to carry out a specifc function every practice. He concentrates on the infelders and batting the most. Rodriguez worked incredibly hard and persisted in improving the feld with the help of everyone who was willing to volunteer. He got to work and began cutting the grass around the feld where they would be playing, as well as purchasing infeld sand, so that they could play safely. He further improved the team’s training conditions by cleaning the locker room and getting rid of any outdated equipment that made the space unappealing.

“Antonio brought to the team competitiveness, accountability, and leadership to this team,”senior pitcher Jose Guzman said.

“Antonio’s coaching has set a culture, a brotherhood that is much deeper even beyond the sport of baseball,” junior leftfelder Alexander Batista said. “These

His athletes feel that he has improved the environment for everyone by assisting them in becoming a strong team,both physically in their ability to play and mentally in their self-confdence. As the season progresses, Rodriguez hopes to leave a lasting impression on each athlete he works with while continuing to focus on leading the baseball team to growth and success.

“I like to guide these kids in the right direction, not only in the feld but in life,” Rodriguez said.