The Aggie Classic

More Than Just a Tournament

It was August of 2012, as the head coach of the Edmond North Huskies, I was on the phone searching for a spring break tournament that could provide competitive baseball along with an opportunity to grow our bond as a team and provide many with life experiences and memories that could be remembered for years to come. Our eyes were set on the beaches of the Emerald Coast in the Panhandle of Florida and Greg Blackmon answered my phone call. After a brief conversation, it was confirmed that we had acquired a spot in JM Tate High School’s spring break tournament, The Aggie Classic. Little did I know on that August day the chain of events that had been set in motion.

The Aggie Classic already had a good representation of Oklahoma high school teams that had previously attended the tournament in prior years. I had reached out to fellow coaches that had attended to gain insight into how to make the trip meaningful for our team as far as the things to do and what to avoid as we would be spending the week on Pensacola Beach.

Spring break 2013, we found ourselves playing for the championship of the Aggie Classic inside Blue Wahoo’s stadium, a local double-A ballpark for a major league affiliate. We came up short that night but enjoyed a great week of baseball filled with memories from a week on the beach. We would return for the next three years, never reaching the finals again, but continued to play quality opponents from various states as well as add to a collection of life experiences that provided a multitude of memories. During those four years, we also made connections with people from the Pensacola area that would lead to a decision to move our family from Oklahoma to Florida.

Fast forward, I am now in my seventh year as an assistant baseball coach at JM Tate High School helping to put on the very tournament that I was bringing a team full of teenagers to not so many years ago. As the years have gone by, the Oklahoma connection to the tournament is still strong with the biggest representation outside of teams from Florida.

On the Monday morning the tournament begins, there is a traditional coaches breakfast where the coaches are provided breakfast as they acquire information pertaining to the tournament. What I have found over these seven years is that this breakfast is more than just some baseball dudes eating food and getting some information, it is a reunion of sorts especially for this transplanted Okie coach. As coaches enter the cafeteria, there are many hugs and fist bumps as we greet each other and begin to catch up on the past.

Each year as I learn which Oklahoma teams will be attending the tournament, I find myself eager to attend that Monday morning breakfast to reconnect with coaches that in many ways have helped shape who I am not only as a coach but as a person. Some teams return faithfully each year while some may take a break and explore another region of the country and others are making the trip for the first time. Regardless of the frequency of their return, it’s always great to have the opportunity to visit and reconnect with coaches from years past.

As I grow older, I find that my perspective on baseball has shifted somewhat. Many of these coaches that make the trek to Pensacola are the same coaches that I spent many years competing against as well as a with over the biggest portion of my coaching career to date. As a young coach starting out, the focus was primarily baseball and how to accumulate as many wins as possible with the ultimate goal of winning the last game of the year. We were coaches that started out learning from names like Cobble, Craft, Long, Harvey, Graham, Wisely, McVay, McIntire and Crosbie to name a few. As coaches that either played under or played for some of these names, we began to shape our own ideas and strategies to continue to grow the game and infuse that knowledge into the players we coached. As time goes on, we as coaches, started growing as families, getting married and having children. These variables also led to perspective shifts as a coach and as such one starts to look beyond the field as you begin to see life after baseball. Trying to provide a great experience for the high school athlete as well as trying to remain as competitive as possible on the field is a tough balance for any high school coach.

Many of the coaches that visit the beach each March may not realize the impact they have had on me as a coach as well as a person. Competing against many of these coaches for years, I spent time admiring their ability to get their teams to perform at a high level all the while maintaining a culture of success. I know that no team is immune to adversity, but from the outside I saw all the positives and wanted to instill those skills and values into each team that I coached. I saw that for many family was so important so I always tried to ask how their family was as they were just as concerned for mine. As we progressed through the years as coaches, we encountered the thrill of victory right along with the agony of defeat. We would see each other at monthly meetings as well as clinics and continue to revisit those experiences and most of the time we always enjoyed a good laugh as well as share a few inappropriate jokes that only baseball coaches know how to share.

Seven years ago we made a decision for our family to have an experience, so we moved to the beach. I left behind a brotherhood of coaches that I loved dearly and have since started a new brotherhood of coaches here along the coast of Florida. Each year when March rolls around, I am so grateful to see parts of that brotherhood that helped shape who I am today as a coach and a person. Collectively, these coaches have amassed thousands of wins and continue to pursue a season that culminates in a state championship but I also know that they also take great pride in being championship fathers and husbands.

I am grateful for the coaches that I am surrounded with today that continue to pour into me and are continuing to help my growth as a coach and a person but I will also be forever grateful for those I spent twenty plus years with that helped establish the foundation for my coaching career. You can take the coach out of Oklahoma but you will never take the Okie out of the coach. I love my Okie coaches and look forward to their annual journey to the beach each March for The Aggie Classic.

Here’s to you boys, best of luck. I’ll be watching from the beach!