Kevin Kingsley: A legacy coaching career
NYBA: When did you first join NYBA?
KEVIN: I first joined NYBA during the Minor Rookie/8u season with the 2004-year group and my older son Aidan. Cole joined the organization a few years later playing up a year with the Minor Rookie/8u team during what would have been his 7u year.
NYBA: Did you have coaching experience before you came, or was NYBA your first foray into the coaching world? Did you coach under Steve Davis? He used to call your team – ‘one of his’.
KEVIN: I was coaching hockey with the North York Knights organization at the time, so I’d had some coaching experience before but not in baseball. This was my first baseball coaching role. In my first season with NYBA I was an Assistant Coach on the Minor Rookie/8u team for the 2004-year group that my older son Aidan played with. Steve Davis was the Head Coach of that team and he served as a terrific mentor to see how he handled the players, managed the roster and developed their skills. It was a strong team that won the OBAs in our very first year. I spent 4 seasons as a part of that staff before moving over to the 2007 group where my younger son was playing.
NYBA: Jeevan, Matt and the two Matteos, say that they have been together for 7 summers – is that the year that the team really coalesced?
KEVIN: We have a number of players who were a part of our team for quite a long time – even a few that have been here since the Rookieball/Mosquito seasons. Over half of our team has been with us since the Peewee/12u season. When you can have that kind of roster consistency it helps you to better establish the right type of team culture, and of course the friendships between the players become quite strong.
NYBA: What kept that core group together? Was it the wins? The camaraderie? The sport itself?
KEVIN:It was a close-knit group that became even closer over the years. They rooted for each other and wanted nothing more than for each other to be successful. There were also a lot of complementary skillsets among the various players so that they were each able to establish a role for themselves and a means of making themselves valuable contributors to the team.
NYBA: Is there one year that stands out more than the others? Or better, is there one funny story that the team never forgets? What do you think the players will remember most fondly about the team?
KEVIN: I think as a group one of the aspects the team will remember most fondly are the tournaments we travelled to the US to play in. We had an opportunity to play at some amazing baseball facilities including Ray Fisher Stadium at the University of Michigan, Frank Eck Stadium at Notre Dame University, Hayden Park at Miami University (Ohio) and Yogi Berra Stadium at Montclair State University (New Jersey). In addition to having some success going deep into a couple of these tournaments, the team also had some great off-the-field experiences including going to MLB games in Cincinnati, Detroit, and New York, as well as a minor league game at Sound Bend, Indiana. I suspect some of these off-the-field experiences will be remembered by the players just as much as the on-field successes will be. These proved to be great bonding experiences which were of great benefit to the team, and played a key role in the success we had over the years.
NYBA:If there is one piece of wisdom that you would share with new coaches, what would it be?
KEVIN: I would say a few things on this…..firstly, too often as a coach we assess our success by the team’s win-loss record whereas I think we need to take a step back at times and remind ourselves that the biggest learnings often come following an important loss or mistake. Making mistakes is part of the game but the key is how we deal with them, learn from them, and ultimately move forward as a team.
Secondly, I think it’s extremely important to make sure all players get sufficient opportunities, especially at the younger age groups. It’s really easy for a coach to play his top players all the time at the expense of the others but we need to recognize that it’s not uncommon for weaker players to evolve over time to actually become one of the stronger players, and vice versa. Yet we as coaches can have a big impact on this if we fail to provide those players with sufficient opportunity early on. Separately, a good coach will know when to push their players and when to be more forgiving – but not to shy away from challenging them and creating a demanding environment in order to get the most out of them.
Finally, I think its worth highlighting that there are a lot of resources out there for coaches to fine-tune their knowledge of the sport and how it can be coached, and would encourage everyone to take advantage of these resources.
NYBA: And if you could impart some wisdom on parents and players on how to best support coaches, what would it be?
KEVIN: The relationship between parents and coaches can be a tricky thing but the key is to establish early-on how this is expected to work. Parents have become more ‘hands-on’ and involved in youth sports than ever before. I would suggest that if a parent has a concern they should first talk to their player about the situation because often the player can be more understanding and knowledgeable about why something is occurring than the parents might appreciate. Allow the player the opportunity to be the first point of communication with the coach whenever possible.
NYBA: What’s next for Kevin Kingsley? And what about the team? I see that Matt has gone to play at McGill — any one else?
KEVIN: We’ve got a number of players from our team that have moved on to play baseball at the university/collegiate level including Cole Kingsley, Matthew McKay, Mattheo Tsebelis, Zavier Zografos, and Paul Verman. There are a couple of others who are hoping to start playing the following year too. I’m proud of what this group has accomplished and in particular that they’ve all grown into intelligent, respectful young men. They represent our team exceedingly well.
At this point I get to kick back and simply be a supportive cheerleader.
Thank you Kevin!
Photos courtesy of Jag Photography. Jag Gundu’s son Jeevan, played for Kevin for many years. Jag generously shared his photos with NYBA.
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Located at Bond Park, NYBA professionally maintains 5 baseball diamonds (1 is full MLB regulation size); two full-size professionally turfed batting cages; multiple pitching machines; professional L/screens and an accessible club house with a fully-equipped weight training room, wash/change rooms.
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