Coach Taylor weighs in on baseball season

Feb. 16—It's important, Cleburne High School Baseball Coach Ross Taylor said, to support and celebrate the many positives of Cleburne schools and students.

Taylor discussed the upcoming season and more during Thursday's Cleburne Rotary Club luncheon.

"In Cleburne, we've got to quit eating ourselves," Taylor said of social media naysayers and others fond of complaining. "We do so much bad mouthing about things we don't like that it causes other people to think there are better choices someplace else."

Bad mouthing Taylor dubbed unfair and inaccurate.

"It's really tough to motivate kids when we have so many people talking bad about our school," Taylor said. "Because it's not a bad school. We have a beautiful building. We've got good teachers. We've got good coaches."

Taylor made no secret of his desire to win, not at any cost but fair and square and through hard work.

"We want them to have fun, but there's different kinds of fun," Taylor said. "Let's be successful and have people brag about us. That's fun.

"Because, I don't care how many pizza or ice cream parties you throw, there's nothing fun about losing period."

Over his 26 years at CHS, Taylor's teams have won more often than not including success in the playoffs and, in 2012, an appearance in the state title game.

Such requires team effort, Taylor said.

"I've got all my assistants back this year," Taylor said. "I appreciate their loyalty and I think they understand I'm loyal to them."

Long-term assistants, a former CHS student who played for Taylor and two coaches with major league experience are among Taylor's coaching staff.

"They all do a great job," Taylor said. "We've had a lot of success over the years. When we go to baseball camps coaches from everywhere want to talk to us. Ask us how we teach this, how we coach that."

Taylor talked too of the opportunities CHS affords players to grow and develop. Former player Dillon Gee, for example, arrived his freshman year undersize and underweight and likely would have been cut from the roster at many schools.

Given a shot at CHS, Gee improved throughout his high school career and went on to play for the New York Mets, Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals.

Of his current team, Taylor described them as great kids who are working hard and striving to do the best they can.

But Taylor, while supportive, is also realistic.

"Last year wasn't good for us," Taylor said. "We went 18-14, but we didn't make the playoffs. That's not what we're used to and it's really unacceptable."

Unacceptable means work needs to be done, Taylor said.

"We've got a young team," Taylor said. "I'm optimistic but terrified. This is the youngest team I've ever put on the field."

Several good players are back, Taylor said, while several others show promise but need work.

"This year we've changed a little bit," Taylor said. "We're lifting a lot more. We were in the weight room four days a week. We're in season now but we're going three days a week."

Taylor said he hates to use the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse but conceded that it did cause some parents to realize they were saving money on baseball camp costs thanks to canceled baseball play and that several students to seek alternatives to Texas summer heat practices.

Of those who stay, Taylor made clear that he holds high expectations but also stands ready to work with and support them provided they work hard too.

"We had a kid who wanted to go to Florida for spring break," Taylor said. "I told him if you do that you're going to miss four games and you might as well turn your stuff in.

"In baseball, you know you're going to play and practice during spring break, that we're going to be playing district games during spring break. If you join a team you've got to understand that the team's needs supersede your own needs."

People say that kids have changed, but Taylor countered that parents have too.

"Everybody wants to feel good all the time," Taylor said. "But not everything feels good. Disciplining a child doesn't feel good. But we have to. The same things we're seeing in classrooms and schools across the board is a reflection of what's happening in our society."

Which, unfortunately, sometimes comes down to coaches and teachers.

"Somebody has to hold the line," Taylor said. "If parents don't want to do it then it's left up to guys like me who are just hardheaded enough to say, 'No. We've got standards. This is what we do. We're not lowering our standards just for you.'"

Taylor concluded by sharing his coaching philosophy.

"I'd love to have guys that throw 90 mph right now," Taylor said. "But we've got to figure out a way to win with 82 mph.

"That's my job is to figure out ways to win. Coaching is, you have to adapt to what you have, what your players are capable of. That's the way we give ourselves a chance."