Mike Vukovcan Often times, the success of a sports program begins with the coaches within the program.
Coaching and instruction are crucial to player development. Over the offseason, the Hopewell Baseball program got better in a big time way with a coaching addition.
Hopewell softball and youth baseball is sponsored by Lisa McCoy, your neighborhood State Farm agent.
Hopewell HS head coach Morgan Singletary had an opening at the junior high team. After talking with some candidates and although it took some time, Hopewell has got the guy they wanted- BJ Rankin.
Having been involved with the Hopewell Youth program for years, I’m very familiar with Rankin and this is a grand slam hire for a number of reasons: 1) his knowledge of the game 2) his coaching style and ability to get his message across 3) the type of person Rankin is and the values he possesses and ability to interact and instruct his players.
For those not familiar with him, Rankin is from graduated from Upper St. Clair High School. After HS, Rankin then went to college at Malone University in Ohio, where he played both football and baseball. In baseball, Rankin was shortstop and a starting pitcher while in football, he played safety.
Currently, BJ and his wife Gwen live in Hopewell with their three children: Liam, Rhett and Charlotte.
Since moving to Hopewell, Rankin has been heavily involved in Hopewell Youth Baseball along with coaching in travel baseball.
Vikings Sports Now had the chance to spend some time with Rankin and talked baseball and started with getting into his new position.
“Initially, I didn’t want to do it,” said Rankin. “ I have reservations around having a kid on the team and I know how that can be and optically how that looks like. But in the end, my motivation around saying yes and wanting to do it was centered around the kids on the team and whether or not they’d have a team to play for and if they didn’t, how that could set them back.”
“So, in talking about it, thinking about it, praying about it, it was something ultimately it was about what was best for the kids and the program as a whole and wanting to see those kids progress, improve and get acclimated to the program.”
Baseball is baseball regardless of the age of player you’re coaching but there no doubt is going to be a difference for Rankin in coaching the younger kids in the youth baseball organization and at the junior high level.
”The biggest is just being able to understand the expectations within the program and of the head coach,” said Rankin. “But what I want to do is to prepare them as best I can for when they get to high school. That’s why Coach Singletary wants the 7th and 8th graders participating with the high school program, so they get acclimated, understand the expectations and really what working hard means from a high school level.”
“On the youth level, it’s not as serious and at a youth level it should be about fun, being around your friends while gaining skills and learning to play the game with intelligence and with skill. The biggest change for me is going from youth to the junior high level is me understanding from Coach Singletary what’s expected from the kids and reinforcing that.”
Anyone that knows Rankin realizes how much he loves to coach, loves baseball and loves to compete. Being at the junior high level and trying to get these kids ready to perform at high school, is something he’s looking forward to.
“I love to compete. Every time baseball starts, it makes me want to get back on the field and compete and play. I just want to give back to these kids and try to share some areas of the game that I was successful at, as well as areas in which I wasn’t as strong in but really reinforce the time and hard work that you have to put in as you approach a season, when you’re in the season and out of season.”
”When you commit to a sport or commit to anything in life, you have to really buy in and give everything that you have. Because in my opinion, it’s not worth doing if you’re not 100% in. As apprehensive as I was about accepting this position, now that I have, I’m 100% in.”
Not only will there be a change in the coaching staff but the Hopewell players will have to deal with a big change in competition.
Due to roster sizes and other factors, the Hopewell program is changing their team structure. Starting this year, the 8th and 9th grade players will play together on a team called ‘The Freshman Team’. They will mostly go up against other schools 9th graders, which will challenge Hopewell’s 8th graders.
Conversely, Hopewell’s 7th graders will be challenged by taking on other districts 7th and 8th graders, most times the 8th grade players.
Will this make things challenging? Of course, but that’s not something that Rankin is worried about.
“I think we have a talented junior high team and I’m excited to see how these kids are going to progress and how they’re going to compete and respond to adversity,” said Rankin. “We’re going to be playing kids that are mostly older than us, more physically developed than us and it’s definitely doing to be a challenge. But what way to make yourself better and that’s what I’m excited for, to see how they respond to that and see how they’re ready to compete.”
Because of his long-time history with a majority of these 7th graders, Rankin is familiar with these players and they know him. But in case they’ve forgotten, Rankin has a few core values and expectations for his players:
-Practice time is important, don’t just go through the motions.
-Wants players that love to practice and that will push their teammates and hold them accountable.
-Treat their teammates, coaches and the game with respect.
“Baseball is a brutal game, and it can definitely get the best out of a lot of players.,” said Rankin. “Players need to realize that baseball is a game of failure but it’s how you respond to adversity, how you respond to failure, how you learn from it but more importantly, how you move on and get better.”
“I love coaching, I love being able to give what I’m able to give. Ultimately, I love Hopewell baseball and want to continue to see them be successful and be champions.”
