Not just a number: Woodridge baseball coach Dennis Dever reaches 400 career wins

Dennis Dever is not one to toot his own horn.

The Woodridge baseball coach just goes about leading the Bulldogs as he has the last quarter century.

So when asked about reaching 400 career wins, Dever's response was typical.

"It's just a number," he said.

His players and colleagues beg to differ.

Dever picked up career win No. 400 as a head coach, all of them at Woodridge, April 9 when the Bulldogs won 9-1 at Ravenna.

A 2019 inductee into the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame, Dever has led Woodridge to 10 league titles, two district titles and two regional finals.

"It just means we've had a lot of good players and lot of good coaches for quite a few years," Dever said. "We've had some nice runs. It's just a tradition of winning."

Longtime Woodridge assistant coach Rick Hardy said Dever's impact on Woodridge baseball can not be measured.

"He absolutely is Woodridge baseball, and it's an incredible accomplishment," Hardy said. "If you really think about it, the wins you've got to rack up over 24 seasons, it's pretty damn impressive."

Woodridge senior Will Heisler expressed pride in helping Dever reach the milestone.

"That's definitely an impressive thing," Heisler said. "You don't see it very often, and I'm glad I was here for a solid amount of them. It's been a great four years here."

Hardy cited Dever's tenacity and attention to detail as key reasons for his success.

"He's a competitor," Hardy said. "He's unbelievably organized, and it's all about the kids. He pours in so much time for the kids and — he'll be the first to tell you — it's all about the kids having great teams and great athletes."

"I love the kids. That's why I am here," Dever said. "I like to build those relationships. Seeing the kids grow up and going to their weddings is pretty special."

Heisler said the respect and affection between Dever and his players is mutual.

"We all love him," Heisler said. "He motivates us. He puts us in the best position he can for us to win. We're efficient every day at practice. We get a lot things done in our two-hour time frame that lot of teams don't get done."

Dever maintains three goals for his team each year: Win 20 games, win a league title and win a district title. He keeps those standards high after inheriting a program with no track record for success before 2000.

"They struggled quite a bit historically," Dever said. "We've had a lot of luck stringing wins together and putting together winning seasons."

Streetsboro coach Chris Scisciani knows how hard it is to beat Dever's Bulldogs.

"That's a great accomplishment for him," he said. "We're proud to see the guys in our league to get those milestones. It's been 19 years we've been playing each other.

"It's always fun playing Dennis. Dennis is a really good coach, he's got good assistants and they do it the right way. He's very consistent in what he does with his discipline and how he handles the kids. That's going to lead him to all the success he has."

Scisciani saw Dever's approach hang another loss on his Rockets on April 15, when the Bulldogs beat Streetsboro 7-0 behind Jack Linton's shutout.

Along with his coaching duties, Dever in completing his 31st year teaching at Woodridge High School, and he said he has no plans to hang it up soon.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Longtime Woodridge baseball coach Dennis Dever tops 400-win mark