Interview With Head Baseball Coach Sonny Hansley – Part 3 of 3

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Here we pick up with Part 3 of our interview with Coach Sonny Hansley.

Anthony: Any words of advice or wisdom for kids in today’s environment?

Coach Hansley: There’s so much knowledge out there in baseball, but we as coaches this year, and ever since I’ve been coaching at the high school level, I don’t think that kids really pay enough attention to the games on TV, announcers, or MLB Channel.

You know, instead of just watching the game, listen to what they’re saying, listen to the situations that come up. If you do that, I watch the game, and I learn something almost every time I watch a game. Whether it’s a little technique to get a kid to be more balanced, or listen to pitchers or catchers on how they block balls. I mean, those are all the little things they talk about.

I don’t think kids really pay close attention to those kinds of things. Especially base running, like going from first to third, knowing what to do, when to tag up on a fly balls. Even though we work on it here, sometimes it goes over their head because they’re not really focused, but really listen to the game and watch a major leaguer do it correctly or a major leaguer make a mistake, you can learn from that. I don’t think kids really do that, and with as much exposure as baseball has right now, you can watch a game 24/7, and you should be able to learn more about the game.

Anthony: Do you think that comes from all the other things that kids have available to them now, with the PlayStation’s, and all the other things going on? When as when I was growing up, baseball was your life. Kids these days don’t seem to have that passion.

Coach Hansley: Well I think the really good ones do, I mean they’re going to be out there and they’re going to pay attention, but I wonder sometimes about other players, that if they did have that passion, how much better they could be.

It is hard to measure, because the difference between winning a championship and losing a championship sometimes is a guy not tagging up on a fly ball hit to the outfield, or advancing on a ground ball when he should advance, or trying to go from first to third on a ball that you should never have gone from first to third.

Those are the types of things that you can learn if you pay close attention, and you know I think that’s missing. Not the fact that there are not enough coaches teaching it out there, it’s the fact that the players are not paying attention to learn all of that.

Anthony: Of all the accolades you’ve accumulated, is there one that stands out that you take the biggest pride in?

Coach Hansley: It’s not even a coaching thing, it’s a player thing because our high school in Mass. started a Hall of Fame and my high school was really really good athletically and to end up in that Hall of Fame is special. I’ve been inducted in the Nova Hall of Fame and that was nice, but being inducted into my high school Hall of Fame was most important.

The athletes that came out of that school and to be in a class with those guys, I was like in awe, I still am, and I think of the guys who preceded me, I grew up emulating them, following them. I rode my bike to where they played to watch them play, not just baseball – basketball and football too. So really, it was a tremendous honor for me.

Anthony: In your 40 years of coaching, what was most important to you?

Coach Hansley: When we moved here in 1981, Nova (University) did not have athletics. So in our minds, maybe they’ll start athletics, and we would be there, I was working at the University school. Well nobody knew that in’ 82-‘83, they were going to start athletics. So being at the right place at the right time to coach at the college level, that was a tremendous, tremendous feeling to be able to do that. I really thank the University for allowing me to start the program, run with it, and do the things that we did over there. It was just more than I could have ever imagined. So that’s probably it.

Anthony: And for young coaches coming up, you’ve done both High School and College levels, which would you say was the better experience for you?

Coach Hansley: Well they both have positives, you know when you’re dealing with the High School Level you’re dealing with young kids, impressionable kids, you can make your mark with them.

College level your just dealing with a older version of that, kids that are much more talented, their aspirations are professional baseball and hopefully we can get them a college degree so if that didn’t happen, you know then obviously we’ve got hundreds of kids with colleges degrees. Find your niche. Sometimes guys want to get to the college level, but they need to understand that coaching at the college level is a lot of work, there’s a lot of time put in. Much more pressure packed than high school, but I think that if you’re a good coach and you want to be at the college level then you have to serve your time. Look for some internships, find out what you have to do and then go after it, because young kids can do that. Especially if you are ready and willing to move around and stuff like that, you can get some jobs, but you’re not going to get paid a lot. That’s for sure!

Anthony: What do you want people to remember from you as a coach?

Coach Hansley: I think the biggest thing is, I was consistent, organized, and, well I think at least, really did love, I DO love the sport. I love teaching it. I hope the kids got something out of it too in terms of the structure and the discipline. As I told them one time, some day you’re going to be coaching, what are you going to be like? What’s going to be most important to you? Be loyal to yourself because you have to coach a personality, you have to be organized in order to do that. So I think that’s probably it. I was a baseball junkie, I still am, I guess.

Anthony: Thanks Coach.

Coach Hansley: Thank you, Anthony.

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