By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE Berwick Cougars have pulled off a coaching coup that could see the side well on the track to a long stint at the top of the Victorian summer baseball ladder.
The Victorian Summer League Baseball Division 2 side has inked American-born coaching icon Ronnie Carothers to a long-term deal, one that will see him tied to the Cougars until at least the end of the 2015-16 summer season.
Apart from a recent neck sprain, the 53-year-old outfielder is also in impressive physical condition and hasn’t ruled out pulling on the cleats for the Cougars this season.
Carothers also coaches Forest Hills in the winter competition, where he will continue to develop their talent as well.
He originally came to Australia in 1985 from Pasadena, California – with Essendon Baseball Club sponsoring him on a sporting visa.
He’d gained permanent residency two years later and played for the Waverley Reds team that won the Australian Baseball League championship.
He received dual-citizenship in 1991 and made the Australian national team.
Aussie baseball has given him the chance to travel and play in Beijing, Belgium and Holland and he describes his big move as the best he’s ever made.
He played on the national team that narrowly missed out on a spot in the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, suffering a heartbreaking loss in the 14th inning of their final qualifying game.
“I still think about that game,” he said.
“All the time.”
Carothers played for Australia until 1995 … when he was 35-years-old.
He eventually stepped away from the side to make way for some younger talent pushing up through the ranks. Even at that stage he had an eye towards junior development.
He also went on to play for the Melbourne Monarchs – based out of Altona Stadium – and to this day is one of just four players to have won an ABL Championship title with two different clubs.
He retired in 1998 before taking up a position with Division 1 Summer League side Cheltenham, where he stayed until last year.
Carothers’ glittering baseball resume also includes both national and Victorian state coaching tenures. He is currently head coach of the Victorian under-16 state side.
He’s now at a stage of his career where developing young talent gives him the most fulfilment.
But he said local baseball needed to more closely conform to the American pathway if it was to take the next step.
“They play every day, while we’re more weekend warriors,” he said.
“I’m trying to incorporate a few more of those things here with the juniors.
“We need to increase our professionalism here and if it means playing games against the top high schools from California and Florida, then so-be-it.
“I think we need to play those sides more, so we’re not in awe of them.”
Carothers, who lives in Lyndhurst, said he was “excited and extremely enthusiastic” about his stint with the Cougars, which he described as a long-term appointment.
“I’m definitely going to see it through,” he said.
“It’s something I’ve always done with every club I’ve been at.
“It’s not fair otherwise.”
As far as the Cougars playing stocks for the new season go, Carothers said to keep an eye out for US import Shawn Smith, a six-foot-three left-handed pitcher who was formerly linked to Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays in 2008.
“He’s still only 22-years-old and wants back in the system,” Carothers said.
“He really wants to come out here and prove himself.”
It hasn’t taken long for Carothers’ influence to rub off on the local scene, with the Cougars also signing Cain Bumpstead from Blackburn and Waverley’s Sam Beasley, who has returned to the Cougardome.
Berwick’s season begins this Sunday with a home game at Cyril Molyneux Reserve. The ceremonial pitch will be thrown by City of Casey councillor Mick Morland at 3.15pm.
