Coral Springs Charter Ready For Consistency In 2014

George Mianowski is finally the bride.

The longtime baseball coach has served as the assistant coach for many area programs over the years, but had yet to get his chance as the head guy prior to this season. He had worked for years under Douglas manager Todd Fitz-Gerald, and has helped mold some very successful baseball talent. But as Mianowski jokes, he has always been the bridesmaid, never the bride.

The Panthers found a perfect fit when they hired Mianowski, as both are looking for commitment. The coach had put his name in the hat for several other coaching vacancies around the area, as he has been yearning for his chance to be the head man. Meanwhile, the team is now on its third manager in as many years and they are looking for someone ready to commit to the position long-term.

Both sides have found the consistency they are looking for.

“It’s a great opportunity and I think I’ve got a lot of experience to bring to the table with these kids,” Mianowski said.

Coral Springs Charter had a very successful season a year ago, winning a district title and advancing into the regional semifinals before falling to a tough Monsignor Pace squad. The Panthers had several marquee wins, including some exciting walk-off victories and a seventh-inning comeback to win the Nova Spring Classic tournament. The team rattled off multiple winning streaks, including an 11-game stretch that lasted until their playoff loss to the Spartans.

A year later, the buzz is still there even if a lot of the personnel is now gone. The team graduated nine seniors and more than 70% of its offensive producers, but returns nearly all its pitching staff. The pieces available and the game-plan being installed work to their strengths, and the team is hopeful that the new starters can contribute to continue the same success that they had last season.

Their biggest challenge will be to come together as a club, to adjust to yet another system being put in place, and to trust their new coaches.

“We really have a young team,” said senior Brent Kessinger. “It’s important that they realize that what the coach says is necessary. Some of these kids have only been playing baseball for a few years, and our coaches have like 70 years of combined baseball experience. As a senior on the team, I’ve got to help open their mind and let them know that what the coaches are saying is right. You’ve just got to accept it and make the small adjustments. The small adjustments are everything in this game.”

Although the squad has a solid core of returning players, there are a large number of new faces that are still learning their way into the system. Coach Mianowski knows that he cannot expect the younger guys to be at the same point as the upperclassmen, but if they are pushed and mentored by these guys now then they can start learning at a younger age just how to work and prepare to play at that level. He appreciates the leadership that has been shown, and how much the team’s leaders help serve as sub-assistant coaches. They give everyone extra sets of eyes and ears observing things during practices and games, and it has worked to build trust and respect between players and coaches.

“One of the things that I implement on my teams is that you are only as good as your last player,” said Mianowski. “I don’t consider that guy my worst player necessarily, but if you have 20 guys on your roster then you are only as good as your number 20. You’ve got to find ways to utilize those guys that don’t get much playing time and find out how they’re going to help your team. There’s always going to be those opportunities for guys to come into the game where they are either going to have to get a bunt down, run a base or get a sacrifice fly. You’ve got to make them know they are just as much a part of the team as anybody else.”

Coming off a season in which the team batted just under .400, totaled over 100 extra-base hits and scored over 200 runs on the year, this situational approach to their offense is a new direction. It is also a necessary maneuver, since the team lacks much hitting experience outside of its middle of the order hitters.

The heart of the lineup supplies much of the pop that Panthers fans have come to recognize, with Matt Fierman, Brandon Laboy and Joe McChrystal set to fill the 3-4-5 spots in the order. McChrystal is the team’s starting catcher and most feared hitter, coming off a 2013 campaign in which he hit .432 with 24 RBIs, 31 runs, 12 doubles and six home runs. Laboy chipped in with a .418 average, 29 RBIs, 19 runs, nine doubles, two triples and four home runs, and now he will also compliment McChrystal by serving as the backup catcher.

“You have to be a brick wall back there,” said Laboy. “Joe McChrystal is a leader who takes command, and he has a really strong arm, so it’s hard to try to take his position. We’re basically brothers, and he’s not the type of guy who ever complains; but he still knows it’s nice that he doesn’t have to catch every game anymore.”

Laboy remarks it has been like riding a bicycle to work his way back into a catcher’s position that he has not played for several years. Since the majority of the pitching staff consists of veteran teammates, the chemistry has come together quickly and they already know each others strengths and weaknesses. His focus is more on working with the new guys to get them molded into the system.

“When I am catching, I have to take command of the team, maybe to remind the defense of a pull-hitter or make sure the outfielders are in the right spots,” said Laboy. “I also have to help the pitchers with framing and with their mindset into pitching and not get into struggling situations. This team gives it their all until the end, and hopefully we can just have fun and get out mindset into it so we can win all our games.”

The way every player embraces their role, while still working in cohesion with their teammates, has everyone believing they can pick up the torch and carry on even farther this season. Even though the system has changed for three straight years, players remark that they have been blessed with three great coaches who have all left their mark on them.

“It’s been a work in progress, and everybody has a really important spot on this team,” said senior centerfielder Scott Stolberg. “From one to twenty it’s really important for everybody to know what page they are on and what they are about. There is motivation to know we still have players that can be leaders and carry us again, and the seniors know that the new kids will take the spots we had as juniors and fulfill their part.”

Stolberg has worked hard in his high school career to earn the starting spot in centerfield, and this season that moment as finally arrived. Even with a reshuffled defensive alignment, the team has found guys are all quickly becoming comfortable in their places. Junior John Benestad is another guy who is coming into his own in left field, with third baseman Chris Chico digging in at third base. Several newcomers have also shown promise along the infield, such as Kyle Oren, Sammy Guillorme, Victor Pimental and Jon Michael Torres.

The bread and butter for this team may very well be on the mound, where the Panthers feature a deep set of capable hurlers who are all hungry for their chances. Each returning pitcher enjoyed his share of success in 2013, and each returns eager to build off of their accomplishments. Kessinger, Nicholas Greco and Chris Budden combined to go 12-2 last season, with Kessinger logging 48 strikeouts in 51 innings to represent the most experienced returner. Junior Tommy Romero also found plenty of time on the dish, posting 45 innings of work while going 5-3.

The pitching staff also gets a boost from left-hander Ryker Faircloth, who led the junior varsity squad last year. Overall the Panthers have six or seven capable arms, and all figure to share their portion of the workload. The team plans to play to the strength of their depth and mix and match throughout, rather than run the same few guys out there to hog all the innings. Since their new manager was a well-renowned high school pitcher in his own days with the Plantation Class of 1991, it gives the group added confidence that their new skipper will always play to their strengths.

“To be honest, I think the pitching is going to be the strongest part of our team,” said Kessinger. “I’m really excited or what we’ve got this year. Having the depth that we do is what high school baseball teams need. Not everybody can be on their game every single day, so if one person does not have it, the person behind him can come in and get the job done. Our point is to get ahead in the count so we can go with whatever our strategy is. It all comes with confidence; if you think you can do it, then there is no doubt in your mind that you can do it. Once you believe that you can, than you can achieve it.”

The pitchers will be leaned on more this season, especially early on as the offense works to gel together. Since the approach is no longer to crush the ball with every swing, but rather to play situational, small-ball baseball and move runners along, the team could see itself in more low-scoring pitcher’s duels now.

The key to their success is to get everyone to buy into their role and know what their responsibility is in every given situation. Over his year of coaching, Mianowski has moved away from his hard-nosed approach where he was constantly getting on players. He has found that today’s kids tend to shut down in those circumstances, and he has grown to be more communicative in order to get in their head to figure out what their thought process is.

“I try to help them out that way rather than worrying about berating them,” said Mianowski. “I try to work with them and figure out what’s going on in their head. Once you do that you make them believe in you and get them on your side. You have to give kids the opportunity. They are kids and they are going to make mistakes; it’s high school baseball and it’s a given. You are only as good as your number 20, so if you can make them all believe in you and believe that they all can help the team then you’ve won as a coach.”

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