A True Maverick: Sunday Chat With Archbishop McCarthy Head Coach Rich Bielski

Each Sunday, I will sit down with a coach from around the county with the intent on bringing some insight on his thoughts to the community. This week, in my first interview of the year, I sat down with Archbishop McCarthy Head Coach Rich Bielski. The Mavericks skipper has guided Archbishop to two straight state titles. Last season, the Mavericks won not only the state title, but a national championship as well. Enjoy!

Anthony: How rewarding was winning back-to-back state titles, along with a national title, with the group of kids you had last year?

Coach Bielski: It was very rewarding. We felt we had such a talented group in 2010. It was tough to lose such talent and repeat, so we are very excited and very proud of our boys. Our returners have stepped up and filled some pretty big shoes. And the national championship was just a dream. That wasn’t really, actually, it wasn’t even something we even dreamed of or focused on or even thought about. We never really ever thought about anything past you know, winning a state championship. And it just worked out so well. Our schedule is very tough and teams we have beaten did very well, and before we knew it, you know, we were in the top five and we just got really hot at the end and we played some great baseball and beat some good teams.

Anthony: So you are coming of the national championship and your summer is filled with rumors of Alex [Fernandez] leaving to coach UM, even some rumors of him going over to Heritage. Where do you think these rumors get started, and how do you deal with them as a program?

Coach Bielski: I think a lot of the rumors are wishful thinking. I think, when you have someone who is as high profile as Alex Fernandez, a former big-leaguer, former World Series champion, that’s always going to be the case. I’m sure there’s a lot of programs who would love to have Alex Fernandez as part of their school and part of their baseball program, including many colleges. So I think that’s probably always going to be the case, and I don’t know how else to explain it. I don’t know how the rumors get started, I don’t know how they come to be, but I just, I’ve learned to accept it. It’s pretty much going to be something that probably going to happen every year.

Anthony: The pressure is always high when you are in an elite program. What sort of things do you and the coaching staff do to lighten the mood when, in reality, you guys are dealing with a bunch of high school-age kids?

Coach Bielski: Well, we try to keep our practices pretty intense. We really try to work our kids super hard in practice and the weight room, and we use all that as motivation to get you know, bigger, better, stronger, smarter and keep the kids hungry. And then when we go in to playing games, that’s our fun time. That’s when all the hard work pays off. That’s when we just let the natural ability and the work we did in the weight room just take over and try to execute what we learned and worked hard to establish in practice.

Anthony: Your team has been known over the years for their offensive power. This fall brought a change to high school baseball with the BBCOR bats becoming mandatory. How have you coaches prepared for the change and how have your players adjusted to the new bats?

Coach Bielski: Well, it just so happens that this year in particular we’re not going to have the offensive power that we’ve had in the past two years. So our team has changed as well. And I think as a coach you have to evaluate your team, what kind of talent you have, where your strengths and weaknesses are gonna be, and coach accordingly. So whether the bats changed or not, we have a very different team this year. Our team is going to be, and our success is going to be, predicated on our pitching and defense. And so, I’m not saying we’re not going to be as offensive as in the past, but we are going to be offensive in a different way. There’s not going be a lot of three-run home runs, and we’re not going to set any records for hitting home runs like we have in the past two years. But we’ll be very offensive with more singles, doubles, bunts, hit and runs, making more things happen on the bases than we have in the past.

Anthony: How easy is it for you to change your coaching styles based around a specific group of players or how your team has changed from year to year?

Coach Bielski: You know, it’s going to be a challenge. I’m actually very much looking forward to it. It excites me, it’s different then the past two years. So as coaching staff we’re challenged by that, and, it’s going to be interesting. I’m very excited for this year, and I’m very excited for the different kind of team we have this year. I think coaching is going to play a lot more into winning and losing ball games then it has in the past because, the past two years with the powerful teams we’ve had, we could throw up 10 runs without a problem. A lot of the times this year, with the change in bats, I don’t think that’s going to be the case.

Anthony: How do you think the new bats will affect games in general? And more importantly, a lot of South Florida has become a hot bed for recruiting, how do you think the bats will affect the recruiting process for some of these kids?

Coach Bielski: Well since its nationwide, just like in the NCAA, you’re going to see a drop in power, you’re going to see a drop in batting average. I think the stats will project more closely with what the results will be with a wooden bat. We’ll have to wait and see, you know, we haven’t gotten there yet, so it’s kinda uncharted territory for everybody.

Anthony: How does the two-time state champion keep returning players hungry, and how do you prepare knowing that every team in the state is now gunning for you?

Coach Bielski: Well we thought that way after our first state championship. Our motivation last year was the only thing harder than winning a state championship was defending one. So, I think now this being the third year of having a state-contending team, I think the program as a whole expects that. We expect everybody’s ace. We expect everybody to play their best against us. We expect to be challenged every game, and every team that plays us is probably looking at us as, if they win, they are probably beating the state champion, or their beating the national champion. And so, that in itself is enough motivation and we’re blessed with kids that are very much self-motivated. They want to uphold the winning tradition of Maverick baseball, and they want to go on and play college baseball and get drafted and play minor league baseball. So, we’ve been very blessed with great kids who are self-motivated and as a coaching staff, we just do our best to guide them to reach their goals.

Anthony: How much of a challenge is it to convince these players to not rest on their laurels and to convince them that this is a new season and that everything starts new this year.

Coach Bielski: That hasn’t been a problem. I’m so excited how this team has taken the field from day one. Our practices, the first week of practices, I was so happy with them. They were focused. They were just so, I think they put it on themselves to live up to that tradition now of winning and there’s nobody resting on their laurels. I did question it, that that might be the case, but I’m very happy with the senior leadership we have this year, they’re not going to let that happen. And I think it’s great that they have seen the last two senior classes pile up on their very last game in high school. There is no greater way to go out then piling up after your last game, and they want that for themselves. I was looking at BrowardHighSchoolBaseball.com’s rankings last year at the end of the year, and we we’re ranked number one and it said ‘State Champion.’ Then, every other team after us in the ranking, it said, ‘Lost to so and so in the Regionals’, and, ‘Lost in Regional Semi-Finals’, ‘Lost in Regional Finals.’ That’s something we talk about often. There is only one team that finishes their season with a win and that’s the state champion. So we feel very fortunate for our past successes, and we’re striving to continue that winning tradition.

Anthony: What do you think your program does differently than other programs that allows you to have success in the playoffs, while so many other teams with equal talent fall short?

Coach Bielski: Well now you’re asking for some coaching secrets [laughing]. I don’t know if I want to tell you everything we have up our sleeve when it comes to that, but I will say that, we work very hard on the mental aspects of the game. And we have a way getting players to play well in the playoffs. Even back to my days coaching at Hialeah High, we always finished strong. We always had a lot of success in the playoffs and our players seem to play their best at that time of the year.

Anthony: What is the biggest misconception about Archbishop McCarthy Baseball?

Coach Bielski: I don’t know. I try not to worry about what anybody else says outside about our program. I really don’t concern myself with that. I don’t, really don’t ever think about it or worry about it. If you tell me what the misconceptions are, I could answer that. But I really, I’m trying to focus on baseball and stay between the lines because anything outside the lines really doesn’t matter to me.

Anthony: What’s something that people who aren’t around your program would be surprised to know about you players?

Coach Bielski: I think they’d be surprised about what great kids we have. Just great people. They come from good families, kind-hearted, they seem to turn the switch on when it comes to competitiveness. I think they have a way of turning it on when we get out on the field. We flip the switch and go into competitive mode and we go into battle and we stay very focused. And then, once that game is over, they are just good, kind-hearted kids. They’ll do anything for you, and I’m very proud of the young men that they are.

Anthony: Alright, last question. Finish this sentence: The Mavericks will end up in a pile in Port St. Lucie for the third straight year if …?

Coach Bielski: We win our last game. And you know, that’s going to be our goal every year.

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