Crack of the Bat

Call This Man Coach

This is a column written without pretense of objectivity. Instead, it is written with respect, friendship and mostly thanks for a man who has given completely of himself for more than three decades to truly earn the title of coach. It’s a column about a man who has built better men than ballplayers and helped to shape an entire community along the way.

Jerry Dawson has coached all three of my sons at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale AZ. My oldest – David – finished in 2001 as an All-Arizona caliber player and earned a substantial scholarship to play baseball at Virginia Tech. My middle son – Michael – finished in 2005 after which he “retired” from the game. My youngest – James – is a freshman in the program now. He has high hopes for the future, but understands he will have to earn every opportunity he gets and then some. Chaparral is an intensely competitive place, and some very talented players fall victim to the fact that there are only nine positions on the baseball field. Some of the decisions that Dawson has made regarding my sons have delighted me. Others left me disappointed that they did not result in the more prominent role to which the boy aspired. All were made with the best interest in mind of the team and of each individual in the context of the team’s priorities. As the years go by, they will appreciate more and more the life lessons taught to them by Dawson, a demanding man with great passion for the game and insight into each of he players. He takes the most pride in the life accomplishments of his “boys” over the past 35 years, or since 1973 when he began building the baseball program the very year Chaparral opened.

And, by the way, along the way, he has won 700 games in fewer than 1000 tries. After a 9-2 victory over arch-rival Saguaro on Friday, April 13, no less, Dawson (who wears uniform number 13) and Chaparral itself had an overall record of 700-269-9. Under Dawson, who credits his players with every one of those 700 victories, the Firebirds have won seven Arizona state championships, including the last four consecutively, and been regularly ranked among the top programs in the nation. Chaparral also has been state runner-up four times, been to the “final four” 16 times, won 21 region (or district) championships, and qualified for the state playoffs 31 of 33 seasons. This year, with a roster depleted by losses of key players to Arizona State (2), Stanford and UCLA, the Firebirds have quietly compiled a record of 18-5, 7-0 in the region, and seem well-positioned to make a serious run at a fifth straight state Class 4A title, although obviously nothing is guaranteed. Chaparral took Phoenix Brophy Prep, ranked No. 1 in the nation at various times this year, into the eighth inning before dropping a 9-8 heartbreaker (Chaparral led 8-2 in the sixth before uncharacteristically letting Brophy off the hook).

Dawson also has coached USA Baseball national teams as an assistant and as the head coach, and was at the reins of the 2005 Junior National (18 and under) team which won the silver medal in the Pan Am games in Mexico that year.

Dawson works to help players find future opportunities. More than 120 of his players have gone on to the collegiate or professional ranks or both. He will make calls, give advice, but most importantly, he prepares his players to compete at a level that matches their talent and then some.

Two of his players – Paul Konerko and Brian Bannister – have played in the Major Leagues, with more undoubtedly on their way. These could include Ike Davis and Jason Jarvis currently of Arizona State University , Charles Brewer at UCLA, Austin Yount at Stanford and Kevin Guyette, formerly of the University of Arizona and now a pitcher in the Red Sox organization. Many have played in the College World Series for teams that include the University of Texas, the University of Southern California, ASU and the U of A. Colleges that have featured Chaparral players in major roles include schools in every power conference, including the ACC (Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Duke), the Big 10 (Iowa), the Big 12 (Texas, Texas A&M, Kansas, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Texas Tech), the SEC (Vanderbilt, Auburn and Mississippi State) and the Pac 10 (Arizona State, Arizona, UCLA, USC, Stanford and Washington).

Chaparral almost always has outstanding talent to be sure, but so do many other schools. The difference comes in the preparation. Three-hour practices are routine, and six or seven hours on a Saturday are a part of every season. Under game pressure, more often than not, it is the Chaparral players who make all the plays they are supposed to make and some they should not make while the opposition will kick the ball around in sometimes amazing fashion. It is a scenario repeated over and over through the years to the surprise of virtually no one affiliated with Chaparral baseball. Chaparral, in essence, has become a school with baseball standards found only among the best college programs under the direction of a coach who, his players so often discover, is more adept at what he does than most college coaches.

And it is that same dedication to preparation that stays with these players who in so many cases have done so well in life. Today, they are not only baseball players at a high level; they are doctors, lawyers, businessmen and community leaders. It is that of which Dawson , it turns out, is most proud.

“Under the pressure of high expectations and a demanding constituency, Jerry and his players have been able to sustain success. That’s what defines Jerry Dawson,” says Mark Miller, his long time assistant and probably his best friend. “He passes those qualities on to his players and you can see how those qualities have helped those players later on. That is what keeps him going.” Along the way, the common thread provided by the baseball program has helped to shape the small Chaparral community within a burgeoning metropolitan area. There is a small slice of portions of Scottsdale , Phoenix and Paradise Valley that is more special than most partly because of the loyalty, respect and commitment that is engendered by Chaparral baseball and spread beyond its bounds.

In a time when high school coaches often come under great criticism or are viewed as out of touch amidst the emergence of “travel” teams, Dawson remains dedicated to his beliefs and his time-tested system and his insistence on hard work from himself and from his players. And in the end, it is not baseball that he is teaching, but life. There simply are too few like him.