Sunday Morning Chat: Special Edition: University School Head Coach Rich Hofman

University School head coach Rich Hofman has coached for six decades in South Florida. Tuesday night, Hofman picked up the 1,000th win of his career, a record in Florida. Wednesday, coach Hofman sat down with BHSB to discuss the historic win, the state of high school baseball today and his commitment to putting family first. Enjoy!

Anthony: Alright. First off, I want to say congratulations from High School Baseball Network on your 1,000th win.

Baseball, America’s pastime, has been around for a long time. Coming into this season, you were only 17 wins away from 1,000. Knowing that number would put you among the top coaches ever in high school baseball in the country, how did that effect your scheduling this year?

Coach Hofman: Well, actually I didn’t have much choice in the scheduling. The first year I was there (University School), I was able to schedule according to my talent, and that allowed me to have a good year. We were 18-8 and I thought we exceeded what our expectation was based on the roster, since when I came there it was pretty depleted. This year, I was stuck with 12 tough games right out of the shoot with our district. I thought every team in the district would be solid, and it concerned me a lot. And then, even trying to pick up the extra games, I couldn’t find any teams that weren’t really solid. I think we played as tough a schedule as almost anybody this year. So when I looked at it and it was all finished, I said, “Wow, if we get to 17 this year, I’ll be lucky.” So, I’m pretty happy we got where we did.

Anthony: Hitting on that a little bit more, we talked extensively over the past year, and I get the feeling that you really didn’t believe that this University School team had the depth to make that 1,000 wins a reality this season. Are you somewhat surprised at the way this team has performed?

Coach Hofman: Yeah, I’m more than surprised. I’m almost astonished. We’ve lost three kids that would have been part of our starting nine at sometime during the season. So in essence, either a substitute or a JV type player had to take their place, and we had to count on them to do the job. So I have to give a lot of credit to the guys, the four or five veteran players, they’ve really carried a big load. For us to be at 17-6 at this point or even 7-5 in our district with the injuries and stuff that have taken place, it’s been one of the biggest surprises of my career.

Anthony: Alright, so your team gets off to a hot start and now reaching that 1,000 milestone becomes a distinct possibility this season. At what point in the year did you start thinking it was a possibility, and what were the emotions and thoughts at that time?

Coach Hofman: Well, I actually had started thinking about when I came back into coaching two years ago. It was never at the forefront in my mind, but it’s always a factor. Then when we won 18 last season, I said 17 next year is a possibility. This season, we started strong, and that was good. But towards the end, with our injuries and everything you know, you kinda look at the schedule and you kinda try and determine, well…if we do this, this and this. So toward the last four and five, yeah it becomes a little bit more in your mind that you want to accomplish it. I think the thing that made a difference for us is the tournament last week. We wanted to win the tournament and we kind of forgot about the streak and the 1,000 wins. And then we got three wins there, and I thought two would be our maximum.

Anthony: After almost 1,200 games, and I preface this by saying some coaches don’t even coach 1,200 games in high school, how ironic was it that last Friday you had your first shot at 1,000 wins against a team and program you built into a national powerhouse, Westminster Christian?

Coach Hofman: Yeah, that was crazy. I said to my wife, “I should go out and play the lottery today because…” I said, “…what are the chances of this happening?” It really didn’t feel like we had much of a chance. They’re such a powerful offensive team, and so when we jumped off to a 6-0 lead, I was pretty stunned and we played great. When Andrew Denis’s back gave out on him in the fourth inning, I knew it was going to be a struggle because I had to use guys that have pitched earlier in the week, and they weren’t at full strength. So I knew we were going to be kind of hanging off the edge of the cliff the last few innings, and we couldn’t hang on long enough.

Anthony: So you guys have the 6-0 lead you just spoke of, emotions have to start building at that point. Then you guys, like you said, blow it and you lose the game 8-6. What was going through your mind after the game?

Coach Hofman: Well, I’d say, I wanted to win, honestly I wanted to win my 1,000th at home so that it could be done in front of more of the people that have had a profound effect on my career. I didn’t necessarily want to have to play Westminster Christian during that time, but obviously didn’t want to lose either, so I certainly would have taken it. I was more disappointed we blew the lead than the fact I didn’t get 1,000 ‘cause beating that quality of an opponent would have been a real good feather in our cap this season.

Anthony: One game later, your team rebounds and you finally achieve a milestone no other coach in Florida history has ever achieved. What were your first thoughts once the final out was recorded and you knew you had won your 1,000th game?

Coach Hofman: Well, the first thought was relief. The bases were loaded with two outs and their best hitter up and you know we almost, I could see it slipping away. You never know for sure. After that you know, it’s kind of strange ‘cause it didn’t really hit me that much. I knew it was there but it’s been such a long process that I just thought, phew, I’m glad it’s done you know, ‘cause now we can concentrate on the district and do those things. But I certainly enjoyed it, and I appreciated every second of the ceremony.

Anthony: Your wife Jo was quoted from BHSB reporter Joe Luciano as saying after the win, “We really wanted to be at home for the (1,000th) win, so everyone could be there.” And you just touched on that. How important was having people around you Tuesday night that helped you achieve this accomplishment?

Coach Hofman: It’s pretty important I think. I wanted to share that moment with the with as many people as I could that had been instrumental in my career. And that’s parents, that’s fellow coaches, coaches that have coached for me, coaches that have coached against me and administrators from the school, and things like that. So, even though it wasn’t a standing-room-only crowd I certainly appreciate it. And of course my son Dave was there, and one of our other sons and all their three young kids, they came all the way from Stuart. It was just pretty significant. Very touching.

Anthony: Having coached along side you, I know that family and loyalty are two of your biggest priorities. Why is that?

Coach Hofman: Well because I think family comes first. In life, what I have realized is that for the first part of my career I gave everything I had to my coaching and to the young men and the parents that were under my control. And then as time went on, I found that it wasn’t always appreciated and I gave up family things for other people’s kids and they didn’t appreciate it.

So as the years have worn on and have gone by, I have become more conscious of the idea that my family is going to come first over anybody else and then my players will come second.

In this day and age, appreciation is not always there, it’s always, “What can you do for my kid?” Not, “We’re in it together for my son to gain maturity and also learn how to become a better baseball player.”

So, that’s really why I felt family is important and they have to come first now, as I’ve learned through old age.

And loyalty, just like you know, I replaced you as the coach at Piper and you were loyal to me, remaining my assistant. Steve Carp, I replaced Steve Carp at Westminster Academy, and then he was loyal to me and he became my assistant. So, there’s very few people like that that you can rely upon, and I also have that situation with my coaches now. I have some real loyal assistants and it’s really made a difference and it’s allowed me to continue to coach.

Anthony: The next question is a three-part question, and we’ll go one-by-one. First, seeing yourself progress as a coach, can you give some words of advice to some of the young coaches out there that you may see making maybe some of the mistakes you made when you were young?

Coach Hofman: Well, I think the first thing is you have to establish a system that you want to teach, that you believe in, but you have to make it fit your players. You can’t make the players fit your system because I think that’s a mistake.

Second thing I would say is, don’t get too close to your players. I think a lot of young coaches make the mistake of being a buddy, and when they have to really be tough on them, then that player doesn’t understand why his coach has been so much fun, and then all of a sudden his coach is being a disciplinarian. I never had that problem. I always had a line and I made it clear, and the players never stepped over it. People may not see me as being buddy-buddy with my players, but I think there’s the respect there that you need to have as a head coach.

And then, you have to prove to them that you know what you’re doing. They have to believe in you and how you go about things and what you do because the kids can see through you. If you’re not genuine and you’re not legit, then they’re not going to want to play for you. I think the most important thing the player has to feel like you have their best interest at heart. If you have your best interest at heart and not theirs, they will never play for you like they should. So that has to be very clear to them, and when they do see that, they’ll do anything that you ask them to do and they will do it to the best of their ability.

Anthony: The second part of that question is what advice would you give players today?

Coach Hofman: I would say that they’re too worried about showcases and things like that. I think what you have to do is, you have to enjoy the game, and you have to work at the fundamentals of the game. And I would give that same advice to coaches. Teach fundamentals of the game because ultimately that’s what gonna make a kid a better player. And so, I think now everyone is worried about going to a Division I school and college scholarships. As you know, I’m an educational speaker for NCSA. I deliver the message all the time that the thing that kids and parents fail to do is that they fail to prepare themselves to get into college. They think that they’re going to be seen and they’re going to be picked up by a school. In reality, only 6 percent of the 130,000 seniors that are playing baseball each year actually play college ball. You have to market yourself really extensively, and if you’re an elite player, obviously it’s a lot easier.

Anthony: And the third part of this question is maybe the toughest, but what advice would you give to parents?

Coach Hofman: I would say, let the coach coach your kids. Anytime there’s a conflict or the parent criticizes the coach at home, or in front of their kids, or anything like that, the kid will never reach his maximum potential because they’re torn. They want to believe in the coach, and what he is teaching, but blood is thicker than water, and they’re always going to go on the side of their parents.

And today, I think the parents for the most part have a tendency to be helicopter parents and watch over every little thing that goes on, try to orchestrate it, make sure that they always have extra lessons and go to all these people other than their coach for instruction. Of course, the high school coach has to be a good coach, too, because parents are more up on what has to happen and how it has to work.

So if the high school coach isn’t doing a good job, then he’s going to run into some trouble that way, he’s going to get some heat. You know I always say to a parent, “If you came to me because you believe that I was the best opportunity for your son to become advanced in the game of baseball and the game of life, then why are you second guessing me and questioning me?” And so I would say to parents, if you’re satisfied with whoever is coaching your son, then leave him alone, let that relationship happen. Your son is going to meet failure sometimes in life, and baseball’s a good proving ground for that type of thing. When I coach, I coach not only baseball but I coach for life lessons.

Anthony: Winning obviously breeds jealousy. It amazes me having now done this, what I do for two years, that you and Coach McQuaid at Nova are two coaches that everyone seems to think are such polarizing figures. Getting to know both of you, I wish I could bring to the public the idea of how much you both generally love the game and your players. Give me something that will tell everyone who does not know you personally why that public perception is off base.

Coach Hofman: Well I think that, first off, I’m not really comfortable being a public figure. I’m not an outgoing person. My basic nature is shy, so shyness sometimes is mistaken for arrogance or not wanting to go out and meet people. I’ve always thought that it’s probably a fault of mine that I don’t reach out to people. It’s not intentional, that’s my character and my personality. But all those young coaches who have reached out to me and have taken a chance of you know, talking to me and asking for information, we’ve always established a great relationship and they understand and know me.

So I think the perception comes from people who don’t really know me, and most of them don’t even take the opportunity to get to know me. Then, they just listen to other people that don’t know me, but they hear people talk.

The other half is that I’m a competitive person. When I take the field, I’m not your friend at that point. I’m your competitor, I’m your enemy, and during that course of the game, I’m going to do everything that’s legal and in my power to try and to win the game. Sometimes I voice myself in a fairly vocal manner, to my players and to the umpires and everybody else. But you know, that’s just during the game.

Underneath, I’m a pretty sensitive guy, and criticism hurts me. But it’s not going to change the way that I approach my coaching with my players and the players that know me know that, too. When they’re young in ninth grade, 10th grade, they’re scared to death of me, but by the time that they’re seniors, they understand what’s going on and we have a great relationship. So, I guess that’s probably it.

And you know, obviously the other point is there’s always going to be jealousy. If you’re successful, sometimes people are jealous of your success. The only thing I can say is the outpouring of congratulations and things that I’ve had in the last 24 hours has been magnificent from all coaches of all different types. I have to think from that response that some people believe I’ve made a truly significant impact on the lives of my players and others who have taken the time to get to know me.

Anthony: Alright, I’m going to read you a quote.

“Coach Hofman’s lessons still impact me today. He was a great motivator. He stressed loyalty and respect and took pride in his responsibilities to his players.”

That quote came yesterday from a player who has over 600 home runs in the major leagues and a player that many analysts believe will go down as one of the best that will ever play the game. Yet Alex Rodriguez was speaking about you, a high school baseball coach in South Florida. How does that make you feel?

Coach Hofman: Oh, it makes you feel great because, and Doug Mientkiewicz made a comment that stuck out to me when he said he was more impacted by life lessons I had taught him than what he learned about baseball from me. And so that’s really why you coach. I mean to get accolades from your greatest players, one of them who has played the game at its highest level, and another one that’s been a tenured major-leaguer. It’s a great feeling. It makes you feel like what you’re plan is, your Hofball system works.

But more importantly, what people need to understand is that when I coach, I coach from a perspective that God has given me this ability to coach baseball. That’s the one thing I do well. And he’s allowed me to have this fabulous career, where I’ve had experiences that most high school coaches just don’t get to do, like throw out pitches in major league stadiums and go to all-star galas, and be in clubhouses where you’re treated like royalty. And that’s all great, but the real significance is, what’s happened to these guys’ lives? Did I make a difference in the lessons that were taught, that baseball afforded me to teach, but the lessons are really about life?

You see, the thing I love about baseball is it’s just a little microcosm of situations that you encounter in life in which you have to respond. So what you do is see these guys grow, you see them sometimes resist. Guys have told me years later, “I didn’t like you when you were my coach, but I appreciate the things that you taught me now. Because I resisted those things and you insisted upon them being done.” So those compliments are greater than 1,000 wins or “I appreciate you making me a good ball player.” It’s the life lessons the things that guys are now doing as businessmen, and as fathers, and as husbands, and things like that. Really, those are the eternal things, those are the things that mean the most.

Anthony: So I get the feeling that it doesn’t matter to you whether it’s Alex Rodriguez, Doug Mientkiewicz or it’s one of your players that went on to be a real estate broker, you take just as much pride in the men they become than their baseball success? Is that true?

Coach Hofman: It is, it really is. If you are truly a coach, and a coach is nothing but an advanced teacher in my mind, then that is what drives you. I’m a teacher of baseball, and I’d like to teach it at the highest level possible, and just like all teachers, you teach according to the level of your student.

And so I’ve been able to teach at the very highest level for almost 20 years, at times when my teams have ranked in the top 20 for 20 consecutive years, and then other times when the baseball side of things has it’s dropped off a little bit. But I still teach the same way, and the players are still human beings, all of them of high quality and caliber. I tell my kids sometimes, “I yell at you guys and I get on your case because I have a high level of expectation. If you’re a varsity player for me, I expect you to play at a certain level, and just because you may not be as good as some of the top 10 teams that I have had in the past, doesn’t mean that I’m going to expect less from you.”

So I say to them, “This is the deal. You must play at this level and I expect it and if you don’t do it, you’re gonna hear from me.” And that’s just the way it is. The lessons are still the same, regardless of talent level. I said, “I may not necessarily like what you do as a baseball player on the field, but as far as a human being, I love you all.” The Lord has given me hundreds of players to coach, and I take that responsibility very seriously. When I coach, I coach so that each kid can become the best player that he could possibly be, and I also coach him to be the best human that he could be so he can grow up and be a real asset in the community and his life.

Anthony: You talked about family before. How much does it help you with your baseball responsibilities that you have a wife that supports you in what you do?

Coach Hofman: Oh, it’s everything. You know there’s two kinds of wives. There’s the supporting wife who is behind you in your career and does the little things that you need to do and understands when you need to take the extra time and be away. And then there’s the one that doesn’t want anything to do with it, and is kinda resentful that these people and these players are taking away valuable time. So I think from a coach’s standpoint, its really important for them to let their family and their wives know that they’re important every day, and you have to give them significant time, and if that means time has to come away from your baseball time, then so be it, because family must come first, and that’s something I’ve learned the hard way.

Anthony: I’m going to close with this. You have more state titles and wins than any other coach in Florida history. You’ve won the national coach of the year awards, you have Hall of Fame inductions and are recognized as one of the top 15 high school baseball coaches ever in the U.S. What’s left for you to accomplish before you hang it up?

Coach Hofman: Oh, probably nothing, other than just to continue on. I feel like I don’t need to quit at this point. A lot of people thought I only came back to get these 1,000 wins. That wasn’t the reason that I came back necessarily but it was a nice cherry on the sundae. I love coaching with my son, it’s really an important thing to me. I love coaching with my other coaches now, so they make it a little more easier for me and give me leeway so I don’t have to be there every second of every day.

But I’m getting older, my wife Jo and I love to travel, we’ve gone to some great places in the last four of five years, so that has to be part of the equation. And the school has been understanding with that. I run my tournaments, I do other things, so just coaching high school baseball is no longer my entire being and entire focus, and I kind of like it this way. If the school and the parents can handle that, of course I’m always going to be there. I’m always going to have my finger on it, but some of my assistants are going to have a little more responsibility. We’ll just see, we’ll take it year by year, but I don’t have any immediate plans of walking away. Let’s just say this, if the school continues to support me, and allows us to be competitive at a pretty high level, then I’ll probably stay until it just gets too much.

Anthony: Alright. Congratulations once again on this historic achievement, it is well deserved.

Coach Hofman: One other thing, Anthony, before we finish. I really do also want to complement you on what you’ve done for high school baseball in South Florida. I think your energy and your effort has been just unbelievable. I don’t think people realize how hard you work. I think I understand it, and anybody that’s involved as parents, players or coaches, should thank you, your brother, and members of your organization on a regular basis for what you’re doing, because it really brings the game alive. Obviously people are very excited about their programs, and you’re promoting the game better than anybody that’s ever done it down here. So I want to congratulate you, and as a friend and former coach, I appreciate everything you’ve done for us.

Anthony: Thank you, coach.

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