Coral Glades Readies For District Title Run

The city of Coral Springs loves the game of baseball. It’s a community that embraces the game and supports their teams, particularly their high school teams. There is tradition, rivalries and a bunch of good baseball. Within this community is the program that has always been the new guys on the block, and that is the Coral Glades Jaguars.

The 2014 season just may be the year that Coral Glades proves it has arrived. Over the past few seasons Manager Jorge Miranda and his staff have molded the program into a contender, as evidenced by their ability to consistently beat the other teams within their difficult 8A district. Players have bought into the system and the Jaguars turned the corner in making a deep run into the regional playoffs last year. It is now a hungrier, deeper and more determined squad that will take the field chasing the chance to carve a new niche in school history.

Until a team has proven itself, none will ever make the boast that they are the ones to beat, and the Jaguars are no different. Players on this team do not carry themselves with swagger, nor do they boast like they have won anything yet. It is a group that shows its drive and passion to succeed with every bounce of the ball. They play as a group, they play with passion, and they have all the chemistry and talent of a team that can win whenever they take the field.

“I’m very proud of what we do here,” said Miranda. “We try to run things as close to a college program as we can, from the practices to the type of schedule we put together for the kids. It’s an evolution where we’re trying to get the kids better and trying to play some really good teams. We play really good baseball. These kids love the sport and they love to go out there and play. They mesh together well and it’s like a big old family. I’m very proud of these guys.”

Miranda is now into his seventh year at the school, and the fruits of their labors over those years have really begun to manifest themselves in recent years. No more is this the younger brother in the local baseball echelon, and no more can this team be overlooked as one of the area’s top contenders. The program has earned a reputation as a gritty and unconventional foe that plays with passion and trusts in those who lead them. This team wants to win, and the players know what it takes to get the job done.

Although the Jaguars graduated some key players from last year’s club, the core of the unit has remained intact and grown stronger. On top of the growth and maturation of the team’s key role players, it also gets a nice injection of talent in a trio of transfers from Zion Lutheran. It is a lineup that runs deep from one to nine, while still enjoying the luxury of providing the security of defined roles for each member. The end result is a committed squad that is strong at every position, and is motivated to play up to their fullest capabilities.

“Our goal is to win the district championship for the first time at Coral Glades,” said senior Nick Diaz. “We want to do something special and make an impact in regionals. We have the team that can win, and I’m very faithful in my team that we can do it this year. Now that the torch has been passed to us, it’s our time to show up the predecessors. It helps our confidence in knowing that if we mess up, the next guy behind is pushing hard. I’m excited and I know everyone else is excited. The talent is here like never before.”

The strength of this powerful unit is on the mound, where they return several capable hurlers who have put their feet to the fire and grown accustomed to the heat. Leading the way is senior hurler Christian Dominguez, a hard-throwing right-hander who has stepped up his game and is proving ready to take the dish against the opposition’s top ace. Dominguez has the heart of a warrior, and an unwavering demeanor. Dominguez is coming off a season in which he posted big numbers, going 6-1 with a 1.98 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP over 41 innings of work.

“Christian has grown not only in baseball terms, but also in his leadership,” said Miranda. “He understands what it takes to work hard. He’s been through the tough ones already, and we’re going to count on him.”

It is a capable unit behind their ace as well, with junior T.J. Williams working to become the next big name in the evolution of Jaguars aces. The big-bodied right-hander has worked hard to earn the number two position, while Preston Vegotsky, sophomore TJ Densmore and senior transfer Blayne Baker also round out the deep pitching staff.

The infield defense will work well with the arms on the dish, as it is a unit that gobbles up grounders behind a staff that does well to keep the ball down and pitch to contact. Another Zion Lions transfer is Jon Mendez, who fills a key role in assuming the catching duties. Mendez is a tough and seasoned backstop who is quickly proving he has the perfect demeanor to work with this gritty pitching staff. Diaz will man shortstop, while Zion transfer Manny Rojas will take over at second base to provide a dangerous duo up the middle.

Diaz has been with the program since his freshman year, and after years of working and learning from the guys ahead of him such as Oliver Christiensen, the veteran has stepped up to take the leadership mantle this season.

“My role is the same as what was done for me with Oliver Christiensen,” Diaz said. “He showed me how to field, how to go through all the drills and how to work perfectly. It’s very different my senior year; now it’s my turn to show how it’s done. I want to be as detailed as possible because to get them to trust me they have to see me practice and believe that I know what I’m talking about.”

After filling a need for the team and playing third base, he moves to the most crucial spot in the infield. Diaz also bats leadoff for the team, using his team speed and ability to get on base to set the table for a talented and dangerous lineup behind him. He looks to build off of a junior campaign in which he hit .444 on 28-of-63 hitting, a team-leading 19 runs and 12 stolen bases.

As a team the Jaguars hit an impressive .363 last year, with 206 hits against only 78 strikeouts. The team takes great pride in the fact that they are so difficult to strike out, as evidenced best by Diaz’s five strikeout on the year, as well as the fact that third baseman Alex Lara only went down swinging four times in 59 at bats. Lara batted .424 with 17 runs and 25 hits, exhibiting great control of a team approach that has captured the belief of the entire lineup.

The team happened to be on a trip to UCF to watch one of their alumni play for Stonybrook College in the college regional playoffs. The Jaguar players and coaches noticed that the team was getting a lot of two-strike hits, and that they weren’t striking out. After the game they made it a point to ask about it, and the rest was history.

“Good coaches are good thieves. They use things that work for other teams, and that has worked really well for us,” said Miranda. “We have a philosophy in that high school baseball does not have the same consistency as college and the Major Leagues. If you put the ball in play, you could get on. When you hit the ball they have to do three things: they have to catch it, they have to throw it, and they have to catch it again. We try to put the ball in play and whatever happens happens. Even if it is an error, it extends pitchers; it extends another hitter in the rotation. We may end up with out three-hole hitter up in a big situation. It’s something we really work on. It’s not easy for kids to learn, but they get used to it.”

The players practice these situational hitting scenarios in practice, and coaches reward them on a point-scoring system during these drills. It has served as a great learning tool to implement the concept, while getting them used to pressure in those situations. The kids have bought into the system as they’ve seen the results translate on the field.

It is not an easy district that the team competes in, but one that they welcome. Realignment brought the total number of teams down from seven to five for this district this year, while keeping the core rivals together to slug it out for a district title as well as local bragging rights. This group includes defending district winner Douglas, as well as Coral Springs, Taravella and Deerfield Beach.

“Baseball is a funny sport,” said Miranda. “Within our district any time any day a team can come out and just play really good baseball and beat another team.”

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