Russell Baseball

3-ball · 04-24-2010, 05:25 PM

Devils are 4-10 and have some talented players. What's wrong?

rus1234 · 04-28-2010, 10:00 AM

IMO...They need a new varsity coaching staff. One that can actually teach these kids and don't bring them down.

3-ball · 04-28-2010, 03:42 PM

Watched them last night against Boyd Co. Lost 12-9. Again the talent seems to be there. Alot of mistakes made that good coaching should be able to fix. The catcher seemed to be the one running the team. IMO

RAM-A-DEVIL · 04-29-2010, 01:54 PM

3-ball Wrote:Watched them last night against Boyd Co. Lost 12-9. Again the talent seems to be there. Alot of mistakes made that good coaching should be able to fix. The catcher seemed to be the one running the team. IMO

I'm just spitballing here...but, could it be the coaching that they got before they got to the highschool level? If I'm a Varsity Baseball coach I don't want to have to do a lot of teaching when I get them. I want to be able to have a batting practice some pitching practice....some situational practice and then go home. Good youth coaching is where a good highschool team starts. With that said.....If i were a varsity coach I would be neck deep in my little league and jr. league systems telling the coaches what I want them to teach.

rus1234 · 04-29-2010, 02:33 PM

This age group now could not be beat when they were in little league. The Senior class, Junior Class, and Sophomore class all made it to the state tournaments during the All-Star years. There was not a league in this area that would come close to beating them. The coach now didn't want these kids playing Babe Ruth once they were out of little league and he is part of the reason why the Babe Ruth League went under. Although now, they have started a Senior League which seems to draw more interest in older kids that want to play baseball. I know of several kids that will be playing in that league that are great ball players, but refuse to play for the high school due to the coaching. The JV team is doing great this season. They have far more wins then varsity, but the JV coach knows fundamentals. The varsity has a very talented team, but you have to use your talent where it should be and not have the talented players sitting in the dug out. Ashland got rid of him for a reason... I have to say that was a smart move on their part. Russell could have had some very talented teams in the past, but if you play football and got caught walking out of the weight room during baseball, you were told you would be benched. He doesn't believe you should lift weights. After all, where do you get the strength to be able to hit a baseball? The pro's workout everyday. IMO!!!

RAM-A-DEVIL · 04-29-2010, 04:17 PM

I was an assistant at Russell Years ago when Gary morris coached Baseball and he went through the same thing. (by the way...I'm not defending coach Martino) We had some good years but we weren't winning enough for some fans. I remember one Babe Ruth Guru saying "I don't know how he can't win with what we are sending him from the Babe Ruth league." Well......I'm here to tell you...I don't know how we did as good as we did with what they were sending us. I would call Gary a miracle worker. We didn't get to coach We had to teach 15 year old kids how to throw properly.....Something they should have learned when they were 6. When you have to do those type things at that age.....you are going to struggle.

dawgbyte02 · 04-29-2010, 05:20 PM

RAM-A-DEVIL Wrote:I'm just spitballing here...but, could it be the coaching that they got before they got to the highschool level? If I'm a Varsity Baseball coach I don't want to have to do a lot of teaching when I get them. I want to be able to have a batting practice some pitching practice....some situational practice and then go home. Good youth coaching is where a good highschool team starts. With that said.....If i were a varsity coach I would be neck deep in my little league and jr. league systems telling the coaches what I want them to teach.

:Clap:

mr.charlie hustle · 05-01-2010, 08:57 PM

3-ball Wrote:Devils are 4-10 and have some talented players. What's wrong?

I really don't know but you might start by looking a the 3rd base coach who it seems is highly supported by the head coach. It has been a long time since I have seen a bigger show of one's glutes than the one put on by this guy at the Paintsville game on Saturday. While obviously disturbed by umpire calls he charged down the baseline toward home plate cuirsing as he went.He stated to the ump "you areF______g crazy". He bumped a 120 lb. ump almost into the wire.He was ejected but should have been arrested . It was obviously disorderly contact and perhaps assault.Action by the KHSAA will most assuridloy be forth coming. The Russell kids seemed to be agood bunch who didn"t need this no more than the pre-schoolers along the sideline.

**PaintsvilleTigerfan** · 05-02-2010, 03:18 PM

mr.charlie hustle Wrote:I really don't know but you might start by looking a the 3rd base coach who it seems is highly supported by the head coach. It has been a long time since I have seen a bigger show of one's glutes than the one put on by this guy at the Paintsville game on Saturday. While obviously disturbed by umpire calls he charged down the baseline toward home plate cuirsing as he went.He stated to the ump "you areF______g crazy". He bumped a 120 lb. ump almost into the wire.He was ejected but should have been arrested . It was obviously disorderly contact and perhaps assault.Action by the KHSAA will most assuridloy be forth coming. The Russell kids seemed to be agood bunch who didn"t need this no more than the pre-schoolers along the sideline.

Amen brother. That guy was definately out of line and he is lucky he didnt get arrested. I must say though that Racelands coach was a true class act and so was his team.

mr.charlie hustle · 05-02-2010, 06:17 PM

PaintsvilleTigerfan Wrote:Amen brother. That guy was definately out of line and he is lucky he didnt get arrested. I must say though that Racelands coach was a true class act and so was his team.

The Raceland coach is truly the kind of man you would like your son to play for. Their system can appreciate his type of representation.

sinker · 05-02-2010, 07:15 PM

rus1234, i'll not comment about whether you all have legitmate issues with the coach or not but, i do agree with the coach about the weights during baseball season. to build strength and power for football you lift heavy weight which then causes soreness which in turn affects performance. if football is that important to the individual that he must lift weights during baseball season then maybe they should give up baseball and leave it for those who are willing to commit themselves totally to baseball during baseball season.

RedDevil1981 · 05-02-2010, 07:39 PM

I'm not sure they have that much talent considering their ages. The problem to me is that you need to have a starting line up that is mostly seniors and a few Juniors. The challenge with small schools that have one dominant sport is that they distract from the other sports. Russell is a football school. Martino is a good man and does a good job with the team discipline. Good kids respect him. Bad kids leave the team. I am defending Coach Martino. The pay sucks, people are critical.... but he coaches to make a difference with the kids.

RedDevil1981 · 05-02-2010, 09:46 PM

sinker Wrote:rus1234, i'll not comment about whether you all have legitmate issues with the coach or not but, i do agree with the coach about the weights during baseball season. to build strength and power for football you lift heavy weight which then causes soreness which in turn affects performance. if football is that important to the individual that he must lift weights during baseball season then maybe they should give up baseball and leave it for those who are willing to commit themselves totally to baseball during baseball season.

Bull..... if someone is one of the best 9 in spite of working out or playing another sport, let the more athletic one play the position. Dedication to one sport should give someone the upper hand but if someone else is more athletic and performes better in spite of multiple commitments they should get to start/play. :devilflam

Fred Sanford · 05-03-2010, 11:54 AM

Going to state in Babe Ruth is not a great thing. Most good baseball players play Legion ball not Babe Ruth. The state may consist of less than 10 teams in Babe Ruth. Russell is not as talented as some of you are saying.

rus1234 · 05-03-2010, 12:09 PM

This age group went to state before Babe Ruth, and about half of the Varsity has or had played Legion ball.

Fred Sanford · 05-03-2010, 12:36 PM

Little League titles mean just about as much as Babe Ruth titles. What is the staff doing wrong?

Rufus · 05-04-2010, 11:47 AM

No reason for Russell not to be successful in baseball, basketball and football. Football has been successful for years because of a great coach. The other sports should follow the pattern and hire good head coaches. Ashland seems to do that and are successful in all sports.

3-ball · 05-04-2010, 11:53 AM

RedDevil1981 Wrote:Bull..... if someone is one of the best 9 in spite of working out or playing another sport, let the more athletic one play the position. Dedication to one sport should give someone the upper hand but if someone else is more athletic and performes better in spite of multiple commitments they should get to start/play. :devilflam

I agree, but it seems that is not happening at Russell for whatever reason.:dontthink

Fred Sanford · 05-04-2010, 01:26 PM

Who is not getting playing time that could make a major difference? If a kid truly wants to play a sport he will play no matter who the coach is.

3-ball · 05-13-2010, 11:38 AM

mr.charlie hustle Wrote:I really don't know but you might start by looking a the 3rd base coach who it seems is highly supported by the head coach. It has been a long time since I have seen a bigger show of one's glutes than the one put on by this guy at the Paintsville game on Saturday. While obviously disturbed by umpire calls he charged down the baseline toward home plate cuirsing as he went.He stated to the ump "you areF______g crazy". He bumped a 120 lb. ump almost into the wire.He was ejected but should have been arrested . It was obviously disorderly contact and perhaps assault.Action by the KHSAA will most assuridloy be forth coming. The Russell kids seemed to be agood bunch who didn"t need this no more than the pre-schoolers along the sideline.

This coach hasn't been at a practice or a game since this incident. Was he suspended by the school or the KHSAA? Anyone know?