Smithfield Little League coach Eric Gibree was a star at RIC; now he's guiding young players
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Sometimes words are not necessary.
Eric Gibree whistles and the Smithfield Little League all-stars get to work.
Whether during drills at practice or a key moment in a game, a whistle from the manager is often all that is needed to reset the team on the task at hand.
Gibree will lead the Rhode Island and Metro Region champions back onto the Lamade Stadium field on Sunday morning at 11 against the Mid-Atlantic champs needing a win to stay alive. The Pennsylvania team defeated Bath, Maine, the New England champions, 5-3, on Saturday afternoon.
When they get there, the team will be attempting to find that perfect blend of the joys of Little League Baseball and the pursuit of excellence, seeking to become the best team of 12-year-olds in the world.
“I may look grumpy on the field,” Gibree said. “I take this pretty seriously, but we’re having a great time.”
Observers sometimes wonder if Gibree has spent time in the military or, perhaps grew up in a military family.
Neither is the case.
“I guess the military style works for me,” Gibree said. “The kids respond to it.
“I whistle. They turn around and look and know what’s expected. It might not work for everybody, but it works for us.”
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Gibree points them in the right direction when needed, but he also makes it clear that he is impressed by the maturity that has been shown by the group of 12-year-olds while dealing with all the attention and responsibilities that go with representing the four-state region on the world stage in nationally televised games.
A baseball player who is in the Rhode Island College Hall of Famer, Gibree said he has adopted his coaching style from what he learned from his coaches.
Gibree, who also coaches youth basketball teams, said that since his college playing days ended in 2004, there has been interest in him and from him in coaching baseball on the scholastic and college levels. That, however, has not meshed with his career goals.
But as their children made their way into Little League, that coaching opportunity finally presented itself for Eric and his wife Susan, a center fielder on the softball team during her days at Rhode Island College.
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Gavin, 12, is on the Smithfield team in Williamsport. The couple also coaches 8-year-old Rylin.
“I always wanted to coach,” Eric said. “I was offered opportunities. … I want to coach. I like to coach. I like to see development.
“I want to see the game grow. I’m not going to say it's dying, but it’s not what it used to be. We have only 270 kids registered in the league. Hopefully, something like this kind of sparks it to come back.”
Susan took the reigns of Rylin’s team with the all-star squad grabbing more of Eric’s attention. She has her own role from the bleachers as Smithfield makes its way on the tournament path at the Major Little League level.
“She picks things up that my son will do that I don’t see because I have 7,000 things going on,” Eric said. “Or, even another kid. She’ll say, ‘This one’s hands are way too low. This one’s stride is enormous’.
“There are things I don’t see because I’m looking over my shoulder telling a kid to put a bat down so he doesn’t kill somebody. She’s great at picking up little subtle changes that need to be made in a stance or a swing and we’ll talk about it when we get home.”
After years of waiting for his chance to lead players on the field, Eric Gibree is making the most of his opportunity.
“I think I can coach kids to play the game the right way and that’s what I want to do,” he said.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Smithfield LLWS coach Eric Gibree takes pride in guiding young players
