Back at home, NoCo baseball staple Frank Gonzales leads Owlz into Future Legends debut
WINDSOR — This is a homecoming for Frank Gonzales, in every sense of the word.
The former Colorado State University baseball player, alumnus and coach is back on the local bench as the new Northern Colorado Owlz manager after being hired in January.
The Owlz (a Pioneer League team) begin their 2023 season and will usher in a grand opening of sorts for Future Legends Sports Complex's pro teams with a four-game series starting Tuesday, May 23 against the Rocky Mountain Vibes.
More: Tickets, parking, gameday info: What to know for 2023 Owlz, Hailstorm home games in Windsor
After a decade coaching in the Colorado Rockies organization, most recently as pitching coach with the team's Triple-A Albuquerque affiliate, it was a sudden swerve. But a welcome one.
"It was surprising," he said. "If you’d asked me a year ago if I’d be managing an independent club in my backyard, I would have thought you were out of your mind.
"But I can’t tell you how excited I am to be back in Northern Colorado," Gonzales said. "It’s my home."
A man of the people
Gonzales is immensely popular in NoCo baseball circles, an affable presence who has coached at the high school level (Fort Collins, 2009-12) and collegiately for the CSU club team, winning two national titles from 1999 to 2005.
He's also done "hundreds and hundreds" of local youth clinics and helped train his sons, Marco and Alex, for MLB and collegiate careers, respectively.
In many ways, that deep local connection was the impetus for his hiring.
"They hired the right guy for the job," said Andy Burns, a part-time Owlz assistant under Gonzales, former MLB player and Rocky Mountain standout who played with Marco on two Lobos state-championship teams.
"He’s always been there and developed so many good players. The success of both of his sons speak to that. But more than that, he’s such a big personality who always has a smile on his face."
The Owlz hope Gonzales can help establish the organization with Northern Colorado baseball fans. The team moved to Windsor two years ago from Orem, Utah, but played home games at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley last season while Future Legends construction was delayed.
The Owlz and Hailstorm, a USL League One soccer franchise, will play out of Future Legends Field (2,500 fan capacity) this season while the full-sized TicketSmarter Stadium remains under construction.
Burns said a good example and eventual goal would be the Colorado Eagles hockey team, which regularly draws big crowds to Loveland's Budweiser Events Center.
Gonzales said his numerous local connections were a selling point when he interviewed. He'll be involved in on-site youth clinics this summer and with running the regional and national youth tournaments that Future Legends hosts.
His staff of assistants includes Burns, son Alex, former Fort Collins High School coach Keith Aragon and current Timnath softball coach (and longtime local baseball coach) Troy Tolar.
He wants the Owlz debut at Future Legends and his presence in the dugout to bring the community together on summer nights.
"It’ll be one of the biggest baseball events in Northern Colorado I can remember," he said. "I’m going to have a lot of people coming by the dugout all night and saying, 'Hey Gonzo, hey Frank, how you doing?'
"When they built the stadium, I told them I’ll have a few thousand of my closest friends show up for you."
'The juice started flowing again'
This is a sea change for Gonzales, whose role was a lot different as pitching coach within the Rockies organization.
"You get humbled and you get spoiled when you work for an MLB organization," he said.
Gonzales arrived at the ballpark with a narrow focus: Work with the Albuquerque Isotopes pitchers, stick to the organization's plan and develop pitchers.
"They have a guy for everything in a big-league organization," said Alex, who is also an assistant on the Owlz staff and a firefighter. "You might show up to the ballpark and work with just two or three guys that day."
Gonzales' focus is much broader for the Owlz in a "year-round" role.
He's not just the manager. He's the de-facto scouting director, general manager, team promoter, itinerary organizer, Future Legends baseball consultant, grounds crew assistant, you name it.
"When you're the manager, now you have your hand back in everything," Gonzales said. "I’m doing it all here, but what a wonderful opportunity that is.
"Being back on the managing side has made me happier overall. The juice started flowing again."
"He’s just on cloud nine right now," Alex said.
It shows at Owlz practices. Gonzales rolls between position groups, a smile on his face as players look to him for guidance but also just to talk ball.
It's quickly created a tight-knit crew in the sometimes-disjointed world of independent baseball.
"He's locked in. He really prides himself on creating good relationships around the organization, just being good to people and having a good culture," Alex said.
"He brings such a positive energy, and you need that for a sport with a daily grind like baseball," said Burns, who said he is interested in coaching someday. "He communicates so well with players. I’m trying to learn from him, soak up the knowledge from a guy with his experience."
Plus, Gonzales is excited about the Owlz players and said NoCo fans should expect a quality product on the field.
"You’ll see a flash every night of next-level talent," he said. "If I were to do this job for the next three, four, five years, there’s no doubt in my mind we’d have a future big leaguer."
A personal homecoming
Like any job move, it's never just about the gig. It's more personal than that.
Gonzales said he's thrilled to just be home more.
While the Owlz will have 48 road games this year and Gonzales does some travelling for scouting purposes, it's nowhere near his past decade-plus of baseball mileage.
With the Rockies organization, he was often away from "February to October." From Spring Training until the fall leaves touched down at the family's west Loveland home.
His playing and coaching days have taken him to Taiwan, Venezuela, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and all across the country.
"It’s something we’ve been waiting for," Alex said. "We needed our guy back."
He's definitely back, and that's opened things up for Gonzales.
He was able to spend time with Marco at the Mariners' spring training in Arizona, even driving his son's dog back to Seattle. And he'll be able to watch more than the "maybe half dozen games" live he's seen Marco pitch in recent years.
"(Marco) was excited when I told him I got this job. He was like, 'What a lucky gig.' Though he wasn't sure if Mom (wife, Gina) will want you around the house that long," he said with a hearty laugh. "She's used to it without me there by now."
It's a fitting return. Back to his own family and back with his extended NoCo baseball family.
The sport has ushered him everywhere, and now it's taken him back home for a new adventure in his own backyard.
"It's definitely going to be a challenge, but I know we'll have great support," Gonzales said. "We want to build something special here and make it where Northern Colorado can feel ownership of this team."
Owlz home opening series
When: Tuesday, May 23 through Friday, May 26
Opponent: Rocky Mountain Vibes
Where: Future Legends Field at Future Legends Sports Complex (1111 Diamond Valley Drive, Windsor, CO 80550)
Tickets: https://tickets.ticketsmarterstadium.com/#/event-details/2023-northern-colorado-owlz-season-tickets
Gonzales, Owlz host summer youth baseball clinics
Gonzales and the Owlz will host several baseball clinics for local kids at Future Legends Field this summer. Visit tickets.ticketsmarterstadium.com for details and registration info. Here are the dates:
June 3
July 8 (ages 7-12)
Sept. 2 (ages 7-12)
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Northern Colorado baseball: Frank Gonzales leads Owlz for Future Legends debut
