Due to the current coronavirus situation and all sports being shut down, there are a lot of coaches who have had their chance to coach Little League players one last time cut short. ENC Sports Review in partnership with the Athletics Division of City of Rocky Mount. We thought it would be nice to highlight some of these coaches since their season has been delayed. Today, we will highlight Hester, Moore, and Tucker Head Coach Alexis Rodriguez. We thank Alexis for taking the time to sit down with ENC Sports Review and answer these questions for us. We had fun learning more about him and we hope you will too.
How long have you been coaching and/or involved with youth sports? Include your time affiliated with Rocky Mount Little League?
I started my coaching career at Appalachian State as a Strength and Conditioning coach from 2014 to 2017. Then in 2017, I moved to volunteer baseball coach at North Carolina Wesleyan College. I have been a coach with the college for the past two years. I have been involved with youth sports for about five years off and on. I have been in Rocky Mount Little League for three years.
What do you enjoy most about coaching in youth sports?
I enjoy being able to teach and help realize how much fun youth sports can be in general. Whether you see yourself doing it down the line or just right now sports is always fun. I love seeing the kids smiling and giving it their best efforts. I know as a player and now as I coach sometimes the fields in which they play on serves as a disconnect of what may be happening outside the lines or the parks. I do it for the smile, enjoyment and lessons of winning and losing.
What is one of your fondest memories coaching youth sports – in RM Little League or other sport?
My favorite memory was winning the Pee-Wee Post Season Championship in 2018 with the Western Sizzlin Pirates. I still remember that team and how we did the opening weekend of the Breakfast Optimist Tournament and how we ended the season. I remember we grew so much together as a team but as well as players that I would say all players learned how to love the game of baseball.
What message would you like to share with your team right now?
My message is to be safe and keep fighting. Do not give up on your dreams and continue to work at them in a safe environment. Just because we are not together does not mean you can’t continue to work on your skills and how to be better. The time to love baseball doesn’t stop now, it actually grows even bigger. You don’t know how much you love something until you can’t do it anymore.
If you could go back and change an outcome (or coaching decision) of a game in the past 5 years, that you have been coaching, which would it be and why?
I think the only thing I would change is really being a little more aggressive with the calls I made or decisions I had on the base paths with my players. I think focusing on something so small that is base running will allow my players to learn more of the game of baseball and appreciate this game. It will also show them why we have so many rules in this game where a lot of them are predicated on base running.
Give a preview of your team for the upcoming season? – could you list the team when you do it?
I have a lot of newcomers with 8 new players on the team. With 8 new players you never know what roles players had with other teams and what their expectation will be coming into a new team. Once we get a few games under our belt, play together and roles start being defined I think we have a really good chance to surprise some other coaches and teams during this season. We look forward to playing together and giving it our all on the field.
What is the 1st thing you and your team will do once the Coronavirus is over?
Have fun at practice or game whichever comes first.
We thank Coach Alexis Rodriguez for sitting down and talking with ENC Sports Review. It is our hope that you learned more about the person you see on the field. We can’t wait for this season to start. Games begin tonight July 8th at the Rocky Mount Sports Complex. ENC Sports Review is your home for Little League Baseball. Be on the lookout for more coaches spotlights as well as game highlights and interviews.
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