Sunday Morning Chat: CS Charter Manager Dan Rovetto

This morning we sit down with Dan Rovetto, who recently was promoted to the manager job at Coral Springs Charter. Rovetto has been an assistant coach at Nova and Chaminade-Madonna before joining Coral Springs Charter last fall. In our interview, Rovetto talks about the coaches who helped mold him, how he successfully deals with his players on and off the field, and coaches attitudes and ability to adapt. Enjoy….

Anthony: Alright, let’s start off by giving readers a little background on your time here in Broward County. Like many of us, you grew up here in Broward, played high school and college ball here in the county. Why is it that so many coaches, you think, come back to their roots after their playing career is over?

Coach Rovetto: Well, I think first of all, it’s the quality of baseball that’s played in the county. It’s traditionally been one of the best in the state. A lot of the people that have coached baseball have impacted us as players and a lot of us end up coming back to, as in my case, get your first coaching gig with the man who coached you. A lot of relationships are built on the field. I think that’s part of the reason why the ties are so strong.

Anthony: You spent the past few years at different programs, like you said, with Coach McQuaid, then you went over to Chaminade with Coach Herfurth, took a year off last year before returning this year to Coral Springs Charter. How hard was it for you last year to stay out of the dugouts and stay away from the game?

Coach Rovetto: I was telling my wife when it was going on last year that it was about 26 consecutive years that I was on a baseball field, whether it was playing or coaching, and it was difficult for me last year. I was out at the parks a lot supporting the kids and being around the programs. But at the end of the day, it was something that I definitely missed. Almost like leaving a void. Three o’clock comes during spring time, when you’re doing something for so long, you expect to be there. When you’re not there, it was definitely a void in my life last year.

Anthony: Why the decision to stay away? I know you had some coaching opportunities as an assistant, but why the ultimate decision to stay away?

Coach Rovetto: I just felt like, at that particular time with what had transpired in the past, I just thought that it was best for me to clear my head, take a step back, and observe and see what direction personally I wanted to go in from a career as well as a baseball decision, teaching and coaching, as well.

Anthony: So last fall, even before that in the summer, you had several opportunities again to become an assistant coach in Broward. Why Coral Springs Charter?

Coach Rovetto: Well Coach Higgins, Mike, and myself have had a relationship about 16 years now. I met Mike at Nova/Davie Baseball Camp working when I was a high school kid and when he was working over there with Coach McQuaid. The opportunity had come up for a possible position working at the school. When we had spoke about that opportunity, it seemed like a decision that made sense to me. It’s an opportunity to get back on the field, obviously to support my family and do stuff like that. Me having a relationship, knowing the type of person he was, and obviously him knowing the type of background that I have in the game, it kind of was a fresh start. But there was some background there to where we had a mutual respect for each other. I just felt like it was a better environment for me to work in from a baseball standpoint.

Anthony: You guys have made the transition this year that many programs never go through, going from one manager to another, kind of midstream. How is that transition going?

Coach Rovetto: Well, it’s going good. And a real reason for that, when we discussed me coming here in the summertime, was for the kids to get to know me in the fall, to get to know my style, my demeanor both on and off the field, and expectations. And I think that was the plan, was for me to start putting in my system in the fall and for them to feel comfortable with it. And when he saw that was going on and the kids were responding to what I was doing, I think that helped him make his decision with his future and what he decided he wanted to do.

Anthony: There’s a lot of competition in Broward among coaches, mainly young coaches. But, when you speak to some of these coaches about your reputation in the game and your reputation in general, even though you’re a young coach, you can tell that others have respect for you. What do you go out of your way to do that makes you stay out of the line of fire for some of these coaches?

Coach Rovetto: I think a lot of that statement is because a lot of these guys saw me play in high school, especially the older generation of coaches that are still around in Broward County. They know what type of person I am and the passion that I have for the game of baseball and they got to see me play it. And that’s something, they respected me for the way that I played the game. And not to mention, I’ve been a sponge for a lot of these guys. A lot of the guys around the county, I’m passionate about coaching the game but just as passionate about learning the game. So many of these guys that tend to speak highly of me it’s because I have a relationship with them. Outside of the day-to-day operations of baseball, I’m still reaching out to them, trying to pick their brain and things like that.

Anthony: You still spend a lot of time at Nova. How close are you and Coach McQuaid and what are some of the things to the public over the years he sometimes comes off as a little hard on the exterior but you know the other side of him. So what have you picked up from him and what’s that relationship like?

Coach Rovetto: Our relationship has gone a long time. And he’s one of the people I always credit. I was a K-12 Nova student. I grew up on County Line Road in Miramar. My mom made a commitment for me to get on a bus and go to Nova from kindergarten. So I had known Coach McQuaid since basically sixth grade and he obviously knew I was a baseball player, but he helped turn me into a man. He taught me things outside of the game of baseball that I still use today in my life. Our relationship is built on basically a father-son relationship. There are times in any father-son relationship where you love each other one day and you may not agree with something the other, but the respect that I have for him and what he’s done for baseball in the county. Now, what people on the exterior, like you talked about, they may not ever get the opportunity to have a Thanksgiving dinner at his house the way I did on numerous occasions. They may never get to go to a Super Bowl Sunday at his house like I have. He attended my wedding, he was there for the birth of my child, and those are things where I’ve seen a different side of him than what people see under the lights at 6:30 in Davie.

Anthony: So you would say that the public perception of him as hard and standoffish is inaccurate?

Coach Rovetto: Well I would say he’s definitely a hard man. He’s hard-nosed. There’s no question. I wouldn’t call him standoffish. He’s a hard-nosed disciplinarian. Basically, he has a football mentality coaching baseball and it’s worked for him. You can’t begrudge somebody that’s been doing something for 40 years now and has built a facility, built a program the way he has. Ultimately you have to respect that and I do.

Anthony: That’s interesting that you say that because you see some of the older coaches, Coach Hofman and Coach McQuaid, and some of the guys that have been around and that is the attitude of young coaches that those guys kind of have egos. And your perspective and certainly my perspective, knowing a different side of them, is that they’ve earned those egos. Is that accurate?

Coach Rovetto: Absolutely. There’s something to be said for putting time in. Especially these people like Ed Waters who have been loyal to St. Thomas, Coach McQuaid who has obviously been loyal to Nova, even George Petik. I’m a huge fan of George Petik who’s a mentor to me. Those guys who have been around, and obviously Coach Petik has left Broward County, but those are the guys who deserve the respect. If some people consider that egotistical, than that’s fine by me. But they have a right to the respect that they’re given.

Anthony: Let’s transition into this year’s team a little bit. You guys have gotten off to a good start. What is it that’s clicking with your team and what do you like about it right now?

Coach Rovetto: I’ve really worked hard with this group of guys, like I’ve said getting to know me in the fall I’m big on speaking to them as people, not even as baseball players. And I think that’s why we’re clicking right now, is that they’re buying into the system. We talk every day. And something I say every day is, “Trust the process.” And the process for us is that we got to know each other in the fall. We’re starting to believe in each other. I told you a while back we had some football kids coming in who I’m just getting to know some of these kids personally. So when we talk about trusting the process, we talk about trusting what I’m doing. Trusting in your teammate next to you. And it really became evident when we addressed the kids about what was transpiring with Coach Higgins’ decision. We had a 20-minute conversation about life, not even about baseball. We talked about being better men, one day being husbands and fathers and things like that, and what we can take out of high school baseball with us because the reality is that 99 percent of these kids are never gonna play this game in 10 years.. And we talked about that. And those kids, it just clicked to them that day. And there was something that happened after that day and it’s almost like the air was clear. And they really got to see what I’m about. And that’s part of the reason I think everyone feels comfortable right now.

Anthony: Hitting on a couple of those points, one that you made as far as many of these kids, you’re right, will not be playing even at the next level. How much does that change your perspective? Sometimes coaches put too much emphasis into winning one game or winning one season. How much do you understand that that is really not what this is all about at the high school level?

Coach Rovetto: I think I get it. I think I get it because the reason why I coach is because I can’t play anymore. The same reason why you do what you do. We can’t play this game anymore. So that’s why we’re passionate about what we’re doing right now. So with that being said, I’ve come to realize that there’s more to their high school experience than just baseball. There are academics obviously first and foremost, their family commitment, as well as their school functions such as the proms, the grad nights, and things like that. Yes, I understand all that stuff. But, there also has to be a respect for our program at the same time and knowing where things fall into place. And I think that’s something I’ve conveyed to the kids. Listen, if there’s a time in your life where you need to step away from this for a family issue or a game even because of a family issue, I understand. Let’s just communicate about it. Let’s talk because at the end of the day, your family is more important that winning a baseball game on a Tuesday night.

Anthony: I’ve talked to some of the older coaches about this situation and how they’ve matured over the years. Do you think it’s because of some of the young guys like you who can put that into perspective at an earlier age, as far as the family stuff? Some of the older coaches had told me at the beginning of their career that if you didn’t practice you didn’t play, if you did this, you didn’t play. It didn’t matter if it was a family emergency or anything else. But now as they’ve gotten older they’ve matured to understand that there’s things bigger than the game.

Coach Rovetto: I think the word that any great coach is looking for is the ability to adapt. From years to years, there’s the different style of team you have to the different type of kid you have on your roster. And that’s really what’s going on is that if you speak to some of the older coaches that have been successful is that they have the ability to adapt to the times changing, to the schedules changing, to really the change in the organization of high school baseball from the power houses that used to be in the 90s — the early 90s to late 90s — to some of those schools not being the power houses any more. I think that that’s all part of the adaptation process and the change. And the ones that have adapted have continued to be successful.

Anthony: And more along the lines of that adapting process, how hard, not how hard, but you see a lot of coaching styles that are specific to themselves. How hard is it to understand that you really do have to adapt and that each kid is individual and you can’t discipline each kid the same? The rules can be the same but you can’t use the same forms of discipline on each kid.

Coach Rovetto: I think a great example, not just from a discipline perspective, but from a player perspective is that I’m a hitting guy. That’s what I’m passionate about. But I’ve been to many places and there’s no cookie cutting in hitting. I don’t believe in that. I believe in every kid being different. Some kids may want to hold their hands high or hold them low. And how do we adapt as coaches to get the most out of that player? It can’t just be the way Dan Rovetto hits a baseball. That doesn’t work for everybody. But how can Dan Rovetto get one of my players to understand how he can do it best. That’s the question and that’s what the great coaches have done for a long time. Once again, George Petik and Ed Waters got via those camps that I have worked. That was some of the interesting things about being at Nova High School was that I was surrounded by those guys all the time. I was surrounded by Coach Higgins and by Coach Petik and Coach Waters and it was just, baseball. And that’s really where I got a lot of my information from. I was taught how to run a program, I was taught how to adapt to the kids. And those guys were just phenomenal baseball guys.

Anthony: That’s a very interesting comment that you made cause when I talked to Coach Petik last year, he talked about when he was coming up, a lot of those young guys did all that stuff together and there was no fear or animosity of guys stealing players or anything else and he specifically talked about him and Coach Hofman and Coach McQuaid and how they would all do camps together. And now it seems like more now each coach wants to do his own thing and stay in his own area almost out of fear of exposing their players to other guys. But I noticed you still do go to Nova a lot and you don’t seem to have that fear.

Coach Rovetto: I love bringing my kids there. I think it’s an awesome experience for kids to get to interact with each other and to compete against each other. We’re only Coral Springs Charter every day. It’s not often that we get to go out and brush shoulders and take ground balls and hear Brian talk about hitting maybe. Get a different perspective. You hear Dan Rovetto every single day. Go hear somebody else. Go hear that philosophy. Maybe something clicks for that kid, you know. Coach Petik used to talk to me about the P’s in life and I talk about it all the time. Proper-preparation prevents-poor-performance. Now not only do I preach that to my kids, I preach that in my life. And these are things that have been passed on to me. But, had I never had the opportunity to interact with Coach Petik when he was at Cardinal Gibbons and I was a player, I never would have learned that. Ed Waters taught me how to hit the inside pitch because he was over at Nova High School working camps. He spent time with me. And really, if you think about it, that’s what the game is about.

I’ve learned that there’s not an original thought left in this game. There isn’t. Everything is taken from somebody else and passed along the way that you want to pass it along. And that’s really the key to coaching in my opinion is that yeah, you may have been a big leaguer, you may have been in the hall of fame, but how do you translate that information to a 16-year-old? How do you get on his level? And those guys had the ability to do it. That’s what I’m trying to do, is get on that level every day, teach the kids the way it’s supposed to be played correctly, and really it’s not about being bigger than them. It’s about being equal to them in the teaching process. And equal means adapting to them, in my opinion.

Anthony: How important is it, I mean you can be instrumental in this and do you even want to be instrumental in this? Coach Burnside in Miami was talking about last week about how the older coaches would get together even once a week and just talk baseball and they would have summits at his house and the younger guys are having, it kind of fell apart on him cause they all have a way they want to coach and that’s it. How instrumental can you be with that kind of attitude cause we think that’s real important for coaches to be bouncing things off and to be more of a community than each school individually.

Coach Rovetto: I think that while it may not be a publicly known fact, I think that a lot of the young coaches, we do communicate with each other. I know that I do for a fact communicate. You know Joe Giummule’s been in the high school game for a long time but he’s a guy who I speak with on a consistent basis. Just about baseball. Even Eddie Tisdale, I run into him and we talk baseball. Things like that. Matt Cleveland, I’ve had a tremendous respect for what he’s done, you know building that program as he talked about last week. Those are the guys with the thought process that will be successful for the long term in this game because we communicate, first and foremost, and we get on the level with our kids. That’s a big deal.

Anthony: Hitting on something else you talked on before, when I was coaching I had a problem with this. You played the game at a certain level, you’re coaching third base, this is your first year really doing this. How hard is it to call the game to your kids’ abilities and not to the abilities you had?

Coach Rovetto: It’s a difficult thing. There’s no question about that. I’d be lying if I said there’s not going to be a learning process some days because it is. I have a lot to learn in this game. But that’s where it comes down to like we talked about before. Knowing who’s in the batter’s box, knowing the type of player you’re coaching. Yes, was it easy for me to pull a baseball with a runner being at first base cause I was a left-handed hitter, absolutely. I could do that. That was a trait that I had. Some of our guys don’t have that ability. So yeah, you have to kind of play with the pieces that you have and use their attributes. It really can’t be about me. It isn’t about me. It’s about the nine kids that are on the field at that particular time. Quite honestly, we talk about that. We talk about the game being played within the lines. Really in reality, once the game starts, our jobs are done; should be done. We should just put them in places to succeed and in the position to succeed. Our coaching is done on non-game days. So that’s their time. That’s the kids’ time. And ultimately, we’re trying to put them in the best position to succeed and it’s my job to know how to play that game with them.

Anthony: In following up on what you just said as far as the coaching styles, do you think that a lot of the coaches–cause in the games that I watch, you see coaches that–guys are getting thrown out, where guys that shouldn’t have been running, or guys that aren’t executing the hit and run, maybe the expectations of what the player’s ability is, don’t necessarily match the game situation. Do you think that–I think it’s a big difference in the coaching and who wins and who loses in high school ball. Do you agree with that?

Coach Rovetto: I do agree. And that’s something where I’ve had the opportunity to watch teams like American Heritage play. And you take a guy who was a former big leaguer in Bruce Aven and what he’s done has been great. He’s been phenomenal because he’s been able to get on those kids’ level. And maybe in the big leagues guys can hit behind runners consistently and they better, they’re in the big leagues. But Bruce has been able to take his style and knowledge and been able to apply it to sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen year old kids and that’s something to be commended for.

Anthony: And how much—a lot of coaches don’t believe that. A lot of coaches believe these teams, they have the talent, and that’s the reason they’re winning. Again, I see a different side of that and you obviously understand there is a different side of that. You can have all the players in the world—

Coach Rovetto: I had the opportunity obviously in ’04 and ’05 to win a state title at Nova and a National Title the following year and physically we were as good or better as anybody we ever took the field against. But, there was a lot of stuff that went on. I mean, we got no hits in a state semi-final game and won the game. And that’s an odd thing. And that’s because of the fact that we knew what we had. We didn’t try to do too much. We let those kids play. And there’s certain times, there’s just certain players where you have to let them play. You can’t micro-manage everything that goes on in a baseball game. That’s something that, unfortunately, we do see a lot in high school baseball is taking the game away from the kids to make it our own style as coaches and that’s something that I strive to stay away from as much as possible.

Anthony: It seems like the same teams are successful year after year, and we just hit on this. You were part of several championship teams. What made you guys different? What was the one thing you can point to and say, “That’s what got us over the edge and that’s what makes championship teams, championship teams?”

Coach Rovetto: I really believe at this level, and we were talking about the different levels of baseball. I believe that tradition is huge in this level. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen teams get off a bus and be beat before the game even starts. I really believe that in my heart. And that’s something that comes with longevity. That comes with walking into Saint Thomas and being intimidated. You know, I’ve seen it before. I’ve seen it at Cardinal Gibbons and obviously at Nova.

Anthony: That’s what breeds more winning.

Coach Rovetto: Yes it does. At this level it really, really does. And it helps you attract kids similar to what Coach Cleveland said last week about kids wanting to play in that program; wanting to go to school there. Absolutely, because he’s built something that is special. And kids want to be a part of something special. It’s like you even go outside of baseball. There’s no secret why St. Thomas is a power house in football. They’ve been successful for 30 years almost. And their roster is double, triple the size of everybody else’s. And the experience there on a Friday night is second to none in Broward County. So of course kids are gonna want that opportunity. There’s tradition there.

Anthony: This season you’re dealing with something that not too many coaches have to deal with. You have basically two starting shortstops on your team in Luis Guillorme and Stephen Kerr. They’d be considered shortstops at most schools, yet there’s still no defined rules for either of them on your team and they switch back and forth between second and short. How does that dynamic work without controversy?

Coach Rovetto: Communication. Really. And that’s the word. We sat down and we spoke at the beginning of the year and we consistently speak about the opportunities that present themselves. And we’re gonna continue to rotate those guys and there’s gonna be occasions to where a certain guy plays on a certain day for a particular reason and that reason will be determined by me and the kids at the end of the day. But, it’s about understanding your role. And this is the way I likened it. On certain day your roles are gonna be different. And you talk about those two kids. When you get those two kids to accept their role in that particular day, then it’s very easy to get the kid who’s catching the bullpen that day to accept his role. And that’s something we talk about; that there’s roles in life. And I respect the kid in the bullpen the way I respect whoever is playing Short Stop or starting that day because I was taught, my father always used to talk about the guy who sweeps the floor in the Fortune 500 company should be just as important to the owner as the guy who’s running it, the CEO. And that’s really the way it is. So when you get those kids, those two guys in the middle to accept their roles on any given day then everything else is gonna fall into place. And that’s how we have been successful so far.

Anthony: And one more point on the coaching aspect to the game, there’s a lot of coaches out there that really have a great knowledge of the game and you—it’s still amazing to me at such a young level how you understand that really, you can have all the baseball knowledge in the world, but it’s the communication with the players that take coaches to the next level.

Coach Rovetto: And I think that’s a positive trait of mine. Honestly, I really do. And I’m proud to say that because the kids and the way I interact with them, the way they interact with me, especially, the way they have a comfort level. I enjoy that. I don’t want this ever to be like, you can’t come and talk to me.

Anthony: It’s not a dictatorship.

Coach Rovetto: Absolutely. No way. It never will be because they have stuff going on in their lives, too. I think we all realize what it was like to be sixteen and seventeen and there’s a lot of different things going on. And I want them to feel comfortable. I want them to talk to me about their problems. And not only that, I know that when those kids leave, it happens. Over winter break, it was something so special to me is that I had 89 kids who are off playing college baseball and they were all calling me, “Coach Ro, can we come hit”? That’s special. And we have relationships that continue on after. And it’s only a matter of time as I get older that I’m gonna be at somebody’s wedding the way Coach McQuaid was at mine. And I’m gonna be at a hospital (for a birth) and that’s pretty cool because at the end of the day, I’m not their friend. I’m their coach, but we have a friendship inside of outside of our relationship. Because I care about them.

Anthony: If there’s one thing that you can point to and say, “No matter what else we do on the baseball field, my teams will always be known for their…?” What?

Coach Rovetto: Intensity. Intensity. Once we lock in on that game, I’m a different person. I know I am. And I always talk to the kids, match my intensity. That’s the only thing that I want to bring to a baseball game on that particular day. Cause it’s their game to play. But, I want to be passionate about it. I want to be passionate about it and I want to be intense. And the reason why I want that is because I know how quickly this thing goes away from you. I know how quickly you don’t get to go on the other side of the white lines anymore. And if I can get them to cherish that and enjoy that, then we’re gonna be successful. Because they’re gonna be passionate and they’re gonna be intense. That’s one thing that’s non-negotiable for me is we’re gonna have intensity when we play.

Anthony: I’m always hearing coaches talk about the negatives of coaching and all the downfalls of it. You have a new wife, new baby boy, new managing position. How happy are you right now with your life?

Coach Rovetto: I’m pretty thrilled. I’m blessed. I am. It’s been an interesting ride. But, you know, at the ends of the day, G-d puts you in positions to succeed. You create your own destiny. The networking, the background, the desire to learn the game, I really believe it has put me in a position to be where I am today; and just going about your business, treating people with respect. And I think that’s one of my biggest attributes in life is that I respect people and I respect the game. And at the end of the day, if you can do that on a consistent basis, all of your downfalls outside of that, that’s ok; because, you can be successful in life with respect to other people and respect of the game. That’s it.

Anthony: Ok. I’m gonna get you out of here on this. “When I look back on my first year of managing 22 from now, the thing that I hope stands out for me is…What?

Coach Rovetto: That I made an impact on the kids. I hope that this group of kids, the seniors that are leaving this year, I hope that in 20years, they’re in my cell phone dial. And I hope they are, some of them are coaching with me. Cause I plan on being at this for a while. So it would be really nice if these kids come back and give back to the game. And that would be special to me. Is if they learn to love it as much as I love it.

Anthony: Alright. Thank you.

Coach Rovetto: Thank you for the time.

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