It can never be overstated just how valuable seniors can be regardless of sport, team or location. Seniors have undoubtedly some of the highest value towards team success.
That could not be more true for the inaugural season of ACGC Charger baseball in 2017. Although first year head coach Willie Patti and his Charger squad didn’t have the greatest season from a wins and losses standpoint, there was a lot of groundwork laid out for future success. Every team at some point in their existence will have “rebuilding” seasons and the key to turning those rebuilding seasons into consecutive winning seasons almost always starts with current and preceding senior leadership.
Raccoon Valley Radio sat down with coach Willie Pattie talking about how his seniors, especially Cade Suhr and Jacob Joliet, not just impacted the team but what they allowed the team do do overall.
“They were very important, Jacob Joliet and Cade Suhr played huge roles for us and really allowed us to create a foundation. Coming in as first year coach for ACGC, getting things going, those two guys bought in right away and started buying in on what I was asking the team to do and make happen and really setting that foundation so that now all our returners from the junior class on down have a sense of here’s where we need to be and what is expected and what we need to do,” explained coach Patti.
Coach Patti further went on to talk about the critical role those seniors played in solidifying the groundwork for success in the future.
“Without those two seniors laying down the law basically in that way of alright this is what coach wants, this is how we do it. I don’t think we’d be able to come back in that manner and it’d still be a bit of a fight and tug. We wouldn’t have the buy in of everyone going alright we know what we have to do, and two seniors supporting that direction is huge to make sure our returners understand what they have to be doing next year and what the now rising senior class is going to be expected to do as well,” stated coach Patti.